Growth and proliferation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells affected by type I collagen, fibronectin and bFGF

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can differentiate into a various type cells. It has been identified that MSCs are an attractive cell source for various tissue engineering and play a central role in the repair and regeneration of mesenchymal tissue. Expansion of MSCs in vitro is prerequisite for their applications in tissue engineering. In this study, we evaluated the effects of type I collagen (Col I), fibronectin (Fn) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) on growth and proliferation of human MSCs (hMSCs) by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphe-nyltetra-zolium bromide (MTT) assay. Our results show that low-dose bFGF (5–20 ng/ml) has a promotion effects for growth and proliferation of hMSCs. The proliferation, however, was back to the level similar to the control one (without bFGF treatment) after exposure to high-dose bFGF (40 ng/ml). Application of Col I, coating on the silicone surface or mixed with medium directly, yielded an obvious decrease in growth and proliferation of hMSCs. Moreover, the inhibitory effects exhibited a dose-dependence manner. On the other hand, Fn coating did not promote the growth and proliferation of hMSCs, and also did not inhibit proliferation, but enhanced the adhesion of hMSCs to silicone surface. These findings indicate that Col I decreases the growth and proliferation of hMSCs and is not suitable for encouraging expansion of hMSCs in vitro. Low-dose bFGF could be preferred as medium supplementation for hMSCs expansion and Fn is a better coating material for hMSCs adhesion.