Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are an extremely useful tool to study stem cells and differentiation. MSCs can be isolated from a number of organ sites that include the bone marrow, adipose tissue, blood, umbilical cord, as well as the fetal liver and lung.

They can be maintained in culture in an undifferentiated state to study stem cell function under homeostasis and in the presence of perturbations. Under stem cell maintenance conditions, they retain their self-renewal properties.

They can also be induced to differentiate into different mature cell types using different medium conditions containing particular differentiation factors. Upon differentiation, MSCs become adipocytes, cartilage, bone, and other components of the skeletal system and skin.

Given their immense multipotent potential, MSCs are of great interest as a therapeutic opportunity. They can be used to treat conditions in which tissue becomes damaged or inflamed, such as in liver cirrhosis.

Recent Research Using Lifeline® Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Osteoporosis Research

Osteoporosis is a bone disease that results in bone loss, which is accompanied by an increased chance of bone fracture. Current treatments for osteoporosis are limited in scope and safety. In an effort to find a new treatment option that promotes bone growth and decreases fracture risk, Komatsu et al. identified an osteogenic peptide, mapping to the calcitonin receptor (CRFP), and used it in multiple systems to determine whether it was a potential therapeutic option. They used Lifeline® adult MSCs grown in StemLife MSC Complete Medium to maintain MSCs, and OsteoLife Complete Osteogenesis Medium to differentiate MSCs into osteocytes.

They demonstrated that CRFP increased MSC proliferation and differentiation down the osteogenic pathway. Additionally, they showed that CRFP treatment of a rat model of osteoporosis resulted in some protection from trabecular bone volume fraction, connectivity density, and trabecular thickness, suggesting the CRFP is bioactive and may have show promise as a therapeutic option in osteoporosis.

Lifeline® Mesenchymal Stem Cell Systems

Lifeline® offers multiple MSC types that can be maintained as undifferentiated self-renewing stem cells in StemLife MSC Complete Medium, or induced to differentiate into multiple cell types using:

• AdipoLife DfKt-1 Adipogenesis Medium (Adipocyte differentiation)
• ChondroLife Complete Chondrogenesis Medium (Chondrocyte differentiation)
• OsteoLife Complete Osteogenesis Medium (Osteocyte differentiation)

MSC types include:

• Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells — Wharton’s Jelly
• Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells — Adipose Derived
• Human Pre-Adipocyte Cells
• Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells — Bone Marrow Derived

Tell us how you are using Lifeline® Mesenchymal Stem Cell systems to study stem cells and differentiation and your study could be featured here on our blog!