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Comparative Study
. 2018 Mar 9;19(1):78.
doi: 10.1186/s12891-018-1998-6.

Comparison of mesenchymal stem cells obtained by suspended culture of synovium from patients with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis

Yuji Kohno  1 , Mitsuru Mizuno  1 , Nobutake Ozeki  1 , Hisako Katano  1 , Koji Otabe  1 , Hideyuki Koga  2 , Mikio Matsumoto  3 , Haruka Kaneko  3 , Yuji Takazawa  3 , Ichiro Sekiya  4
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Comparison of mesenchymal stem cells obtained by suspended culture of synovium from patients with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis

Yuji Kohno et al. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. .

Abstract

Background: Mobilization of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from the synovium was revealed using a "suspended synovium culture model" of osteoarthritis (OA). The pathology of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) differs from that of OA. We investigated whether mobilization of MSCs from the synovium also occurred in RA, and we compared the properties of synovial MSCs collected from suspended synovium culture models of RA and OA.

Methods: Human synovium was harvested during total knee arthroplasty from the knee joints of patients with RA (n = 8) and OA (n = 6). The synovium was suspended in a bottle containing culture medium and a culture dish at the bottom. Cells were harvested from the dish and analyzed.

Results: No significant difference was observed between RA and OA in the harvested cell numbers per g of synovium. However, the variation in the number of cells harvested from each donor was greater for RA than for OA. The harvested cells were multipotent and no difference was observed in the cartilage pellet weight between RA and OA. The surface epitopes of the cells in RA and OA were similar to those of MSCs.

Conclusion: Mobilization of MSCs from the synovium was demonstrated using a suspended synovium culture model for RA. The harvested cell numbers, chondrogenic potentials, and surface epitope profiles were comparable between the RA and OA models.

Keywords: Chondrogenic potential; Harvested cell number; MSC mobilization; Osteoarthritis; Rheumatoid arthritis; Suspended synovium culture model; Synovial mesenchymal stem cell (synovial MSC).

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study was approved by local institutional review boards (the Medical Research Ethics Committee of Tokyo Medical and Dental University and the Hospital Ethics Committee of Juntendo University Hospital), and written consent was obtained from all study subjects.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Suspended synovium culture protocol. Human synovium was harvested during total knee arthroplasty from knee joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA; n = 8) and osteoarthritis (OA; n = 6). Approximately 1 g of synovium from each donor was suspended in each of six bottles that contained culture medium and a culture dish placed at the bottom of the bottle. After seven days of suspended synovium culture, three dishes were stained with 0.5% crystal violet and the suspended synovium was also examined histologically. After fourteen days of suspended synovium culture, the harvested cell numbers were evaluated from the remaining three dishes for each donor. The cells were passaged again and used for differentiation assays and analysis of surface epitope expression
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Cell colonies and harvested cell numbers after suspended culture of synovium from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA; n = 8) and osteoarthritis (OA; n = 6). a Representative cell colonies stained with crystal violet after 7 days of suspended synovium culture. b Passage 0 cell numbers/g synovium after 14 days of suspended synovium culture. c Passage 1 cell numbers/g synovium after14 days of culture of passage 0 cells. Average values with standard deviation are shown (RA, n = 8; OA, n = 6). NS: not significant
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Histological analysis of synovium from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA; n = 8) and osteoarthritis (OA; n = 6) before and after 7 days of suspended culture. a Representative sections stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Each synovium was assigned to one of three grades according to the thickness of the synovial intima: grade 1 = synovial intima less than four cells thick; grade 2 = synovial intima four to six cells thick; and grade 3 = synovial intima seven or more cells thick. b Synovial intima grade before and after 7 days of suspended synovium culture. Bef: before, Aft: after, NS: not significant
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Differentiation assays of the cells passaged after suspended culture of synovium from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA; n = 8) and osteoarthritis (OA; n = 6). a Chondrogenesis. Representative macro pictures and histological sections stained with safranin O are shown. b Cartilage pellet weight. Average values with standard deviation are shown. NS: not significant. c Calcification. Representative cell colonies stained with alizarin red are shown. d Adipogenesis. Representative cell colonies stained with oil red O are shown
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Cell surface markers expressed by synovial cells passaged after suspended culture of synovium from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA; n = 8) and osteoarthritis (OA; n = 6)
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