Effect of Mineral Pitch on the Proliferation of Human Adipose Derived Stem Cells on Acellular Scaffold

Purpose: Acellular scaffold extracted from extracellular matrix (ECM) have been used for constructive and regenerative medicine. Adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) can enhance the vascularization capacity of scaffolds. High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) and stromal derived factor1 (SDF1) are considered as two important factors in vascularization and immunologic system. In this study, the effect of mineral pitch on the proliferation of human ADSCs was evaluated. In addition to HMGB1 and SDF1, factors expression in acellular scaffold was also assessed.

Methods: To determine acellular scaffold morphology and the degree of decellularization, hematoxylin & eosin (H&E), 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI), and Masson’s trichrome staining were applied. The scaffolds were treated with mineral pitch. Also, ADSCs were seeded on the scaffolds, and adhesion of the cells to the scaffolds were assessed using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). In addition, the efficiency of mineral pitch to induce the proliferation of ADSCs on the scaffolds was evaluated using 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. To measure HMGB1 and SDF1 mRNA expression, real-time polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCR) was used.

Results: FE-SEM showed that decellularized matrix possesses similar matrix morphology with a randomly oriented fibrillar structure and interconnecting pores. No toxicity was observed in all treatments, and cell proliferation were supported in scaffolds. The important point is that, the proliferation capacity of ADSCs on Mineral pitch loaded scaffolds significantly increased after 48 h incubation time compared to the unloaded scaffold (P<0.001).

Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that mineral pitch has potentials to accelerate proliferation of ADSCs on the acellular scaffolds.