Serum-free medium with osteogenic supplements induces adipogenesis in rat bone marrow stromal cells

Adult BMSCs (bone marrow stromal cells) contain MSCs (mesenchymal stem cells). MSCs can differentiate into osteoblasts, chondrocytes, adipocytes and myoblasts and are thus considered useful in tissue engineering for therapeutic and clinical purposes. FCS (fetal calf serum) is usually included in the differentiation medium, but the clinical application of FCS may pose a problem for some patients. To improve the efficiency and safety of BMSC cultivation, the effect of SF (serum-free) conditions on the osteogenic differentiation of rat BMSCs was examined. In the presence of 10% FCS and osteogenic supplements, the cells formed mineralized von Kossa-positive deposits. Under SF conditions with osteogenic supplementation, however, the cells possessed cytosolic lipid vacuoles that could be stained with Oil Red O. The mRNA expression of PPAR gamma (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma), an adipogenic marker, increased under the SF condition with osteogenic supplements. These data indicate that rat BMSCs differentiate into adipocytes under SF conditions even with osteogenic supplementation and that FCS is needed to induce proper osteogenic differentiation in rat BMSCs.