Introduction: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are an important cell type for regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. They are involved in tissue regeneration by means of: (a) differentiation into specialised mesodermal cells and (b) their biosynthetic activity that is both immunomodulatory and trophic. In recent studies we analysed MSC in contact with different biomaterials to identify suitable combinations for tissue engineering.
Methods: A biomaterial test platform was established to analyse cell adhesion, viability, proliferation, cytotoxicity according to ISO 10993-5, apoptosis and differentiation to adipocytes and osteoblasts on a variety of polymers (degradable biopolymers, degradable synthetic polymers, non-degradable synthetic polymers, shape memory polymers, and ceramics).
Results: Using this platform, biomaterials which support MSC growth by maintaining their stem cell characteristics and support the differentiation of MSC towards mature osteoblasts were identified. Furthermore, we showed that MSC possess fibrinolytic capacities and perform extracellular matrix remodelling.
Conclusion: The data support the theory that MSC are involved in tissue regeneration both via their differentiation capacity and their trophic characteristics. We identified different MSC/biomaterial combinations which are suitable for stem cell-based bone tissue engineering.