Background and purpose: Tissue engineering and cell therapy, as promising therapies, provide the opportunity to repair bone lesions and defects. Combined scaffolds, synthetic and natural polymers can provide a suitable structure for differentiation of Wharton Jelly mesenchymal stem cells (WJ-MSCs) into bone. In current study, the effect of lyophilized blood growth factors in promoting the process of osteogenesis is important.
Materials and methods: In this study, PCL-Gel nanofiber scaffolds were prepared by electrospinning method. To prepare membrane, blood was collected from volunteers and its growth factors were extracted and loaded on nanofiber layers. They were then placed in a freezer at -20°C for three days and finally in a freezer for 48 hours. They were structurally examined by electron microscopy and sterilized by gamma rays. WJ-MSCs were then cultured on scaffolding. MTT and Real-Time PCR tests were performed to evaluate cell viability and expression of ALP, RUNX2, COLX, and COLI genes in the designed scaffold.
Results: Findings showed that the viability, growth, proliferation, and the expression of WJ-MSCs and osteogenic-specific genes were significantly higher at high concentration of blood derived growth factors/ polycaprolactone /gelatin-scaffold combination (P<0.001).
Conclusion: High concentration of blood derived growth factors in designed scaffolds facilitated the osteogenesis process.