A multicompartment holder for spinner flasks improves expansion and osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells in three-dimensional scaffolds

Tissue Eng Part C Methods. 2014 Dec;20(12):984-93. doi: 10.1089/ten.TEC.2014.0067. Epub 2014 Apr 24.

Abstract

In the tissue engineering field dynamic culture systems, such as spinner flasks, are widely used due to their ability to improve mass transfer in suspension cell cultures. However, this culture system is often unsuitable to culture cells in three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds. To address this drawback, we designed a multicompartment holder for 3D cell culture, easily adaptable to spinner flasks. Here, the device was tested with human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) seeded in 3D porous chitosan scaffolds that were maintained in spinner flasks under dynamic conditions (50 rpm). Standard static culture conditions were used as control. The dynamic conditions were shown to significantly increase MSCs proliferation over 1 week (approximately 6-fold) and to improve cell distribution within the scaffold. Moreover, they also promoted osteogenic differentiation of MSCs, inducing an earlier peak in alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and a more homogenous ALP staining and matrix mineralization in the whole scaffolds, but particularly in the center. Overall, this study shows a new multicompartment holder to culture 3D scaffolds that can broaden the application of spinner flasks.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cell Culture Techniques / instrumentation*
  • Cell Culture Techniques / methods*
  • Cell Differentiation* / drug effects
  • Cell Lineage / drug effects
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Cell Survival / drug effects
  • Chitosan / pharmacology
  • Humans
  • Mesenchymal Stem Cells / cytology*
  • Mesenchymal Stem Cells / drug effects
  • Mesenchymal Stem Cells / metabolism
  • Osteogenesis* / drug effects
  • Tissue Scaffolds / chemistry*

Substances

  • Chitosan