Osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in hydrogel containing nacre powder

Nacre (or mother of pearl) can facilitate bone cell differentiation and ă can speed up their mineralization. Here we report on the capability of ă nacre to induce differentiation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem ă cells (hBM-MSCs) and the production of extracellular matrix. hBM-MSCs ă were encapsulated in an alginate hydrogel containing different ă concentrations of powdered nacre and cultured in the same environment ă until Day 28. Analysis of osteogenic gene expression, histochemistry, ă second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy, and Raman scattering ă spectroscopy were used to characterize the synthesis of the ă extracellular matrix. In the presence of nacre powder, a significant ă increase in matrix synthesis from D21 in comparison with pure alginate ă was observed. Histochemistry revealed the formation of a new tissue ă composed of collagen fibers in the presence of nacre (immunostaining and ă SHG), and hydroxyapatite crystals (Raman) in the alginate beads. These ă results suggest that nacre is efficient in hBM-MSCs differentiation, ă extracellular matrix production and mineralization in alginate 3D ă biomaterials. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part ă A: 101A: 3211-3218, 2013.