Polycaprolactone nanofiber scaffold enhances the osteogenic differentiation potency of various human tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells

Background: Polycaprolactone (PCL) has been regarded as a promising synthetic material for bone tissue engineering application. Owing to its unique biochemical properties and great compatibility, PCL fibers have come to be explored as a potential delivering scaffold for stem cells to support bone regeneration during clinical application. Methods: The human derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were obtained from umbilical cord (UC), bone marrow (BM), and adipose tissue (AD), respectively. The osteogenic differentiation potency of various human MSCs on this novel synthetic biomaterial was also investigated in vitro. Results: Here, we illustrated that those human UC-, BM-, and AD-derived MSCs exhibited fibroblast-like morphology and expressed characteristic markers. Impressively, PCL nanofiber scaffold could support those MSC adhesion and proliferation. Long-term culture on PCL nanofiber scaffold maintained the viability as well as accelerated the proliferation of those three different kinds of human MSCs. More importantly, the osteogenic differentiation potency of those human MSCs was increased significantly by culturing on PCL nanofiber scaffold. Of note, BM-derived MSCs demonstrated greater differentiation potency among the three kinds of MSCs. The Wnt/β-catenin and Smad3 signaling pathways contributed to the enhanced osteogenesis of human MSCs, which was activated consistently by PCL nanofiber scaffold. Conclusions: The utilization of PCL nanofiber scaffold would provide a great application potential for MSC-based bone tissue repair by enhancing the osteogenic differentiation of human MSCs.