Pancreatic Lineage Cell Differentiation of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stromal Cells on Acellular Pancreatic Bioscaffold

Abstract

Objectives We evaluated the potential differentiation ability of bone mesenchymal stromal cells (BMSCs) into pancreatic lineage cells on a rat acellular pancreatic bioscaffold (APB) and the effect of differentiated BMSCs in vivo. Methods The BMSCs were dynamically or statically cultured with or without growth factor in both culture systems. We assessed the cytological behavior and differentiation. We also evaluated the pancreatic fibrosis and pathological scores. Results The proliferation rates of BMSCs were significantly higher in the APB groups. The APB induced BMSCs to express mRNA markers at higher levels. All tested pancreatic functional proteins were also expressed at higher levels in the APB group. The secretion of metabolic enzymes was higher in the APB system. The ultrastructure of BMSCs in the APB group further revealed the morphological characteristics of pancreatic-like cells. For the in vivo study, the pancreatic fibrosis and pathological scores were significantly lower in the differentiated BMSCs group. In addition, in both the in vitro and the in vivo study, growth factor significantly improved proliferation, differentiation, and pancreatic cell therapy. Conclusions The APB can promote BMSC differentiation toward pancreatic lineage and pancreatic-like phenotypes, giving it the potential for use in pancreatic cell therapies and tissue engineering.