Uniparental parthenogenetic embryonic stem cell derivatives adaptable for bone and cartilage regeneration

Abstract

Cells with the desired phenotype and number are critical for regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. Uniparental parthenogenetic embryonic stem cells (pESCs) share fundamental properties with embryonic stem cells. This study aims to determine the viability of pESC-based tissue engineering for bone and cartilage reconstruction. The mouse pESCs were cultured in suspension to form embryoid bodies. An adherent cultivation approach was employed to obtain parthenogenetic embryonic mesenchymal stem cells (pMSCs) from the embryoid bodies. Then, the pMSCs were cultured in conditional media to differentiate into osteogenic and chondrogenic lineages. The pESC-derived osteoblasts and chondroblasts were seeded into coral and sodium alginate scaffolds, respectively. The cell-seeded scaffolds were implanted into dorsal subcutaneous pockets of nude mice to evaluate ectopic reconstruction of bone and cartilage. We demonstrated that pESCs display the capacity to differentiate into all three germ layers. The generated pMSCs were able to differentiate into osteogenic and chondrogenic lineages, which survived well after seeding into coral and alginate acid scaffolds. Six weeks after cell-scaffold implantation, gross inspection and histological examination revealed that ectopic bone and cartilage tissues had successfully regenerated in the specimen. According to the findings of this study, pESC derivatives have a high potential for bone and cartilage regeneration.