Xenogeneic chondrocytes promote stable subcutaneous chondrogenesis of bone marrow-derived stromal cells

The local microenvironment may change the ultimate fate of engineered cartilage differentiated from bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) after subcutaneous implantation. Chondrogenically differentiated BMSCs directed by growth factors or low-intensity ultrasound are apt to fibrose or vascularize in the subcutaneous environment, while BMSCs implanted in articular cartilage defects can form stable cartilage. We hypothesized that chondrocytes would provide an ideal chondrogenic environment, and thus promote the maintenance of the chondrocytic phenotype in ectopia. To test this hypothesis, we developed a new method to promote chondrocyte development from BMSCs in a chondrogenic environment produced by xenogeneic chondrocytes and compared the subcutaneous chondrogenesis of BMSCs mediated by xenogeneic chondrocytes with that produced by growth factors. These results indicate that subcutaneous chondrogenesis of BMSCs directed by xenogeneic chondrocytes is more effective than that induced by growth factors. BMSCs induced by xenogeneic chondrocytes formed relatively mature cartilage before or after implantation, following 4 weeks of culture, which reduced the induction time in vitro and led to maintenance of a stable cartilage phenotype after subcutaneous implantation.