Fibroblast Growth Factor-2 Primes Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Enhanced Chondrogenesis
Figure 1
Human MSCs were expanded in varying concentrations of FBS with or without FGF-2 for 2 passages prior to CG and analyzed for cartilaginous properties upon differentiation in pellet culture. (A) End-point RT-PCR analysis showed that cartilage-specific gene expression was upregulated in the 2 FGF-2-expanded conditions (Lanes 2 and 4) at each time point compared to those without FGF-2 pretreatment (Lanes 1 and 3). Lane 1: 10% FBS; Lane 2: 5% FBS+FGF-2; Lane 3: 5% FBS; Lane 4: 1% FBS+FGF-2. (B) Significantly greater GAG accumulation was observed in the 2 FGF-2-expanded conditions at each time point compared to those without FGF-2 pretreatment. GAG content was normalized to DNA content. Values are mean ± SD. All conditions were significant with each other except the 2 FGF-2-expanded conditions at Day 21. p<0.05, n = 3.
