Isolation, Expansion, and Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells from the Infrapatellar Fat Pad of the Goat Stifle Joint

Summary

Infrapatellar fat pad mesenchymal stem cells (IFP-MSCs) can be isolated easily from the infrapatellar fat pad of the knee joint. They proliferate well in vitro, form CFU-F colonies, and differentiate into adipogenic, chondrogenic, and osteogenic lineages. Herein, the methodology for the isolation, expansion, and differentiation of IFP-MSCs from goat stifle joint is provided.

Abstract

The IFP, present in the knee joint, serves as a promising source of MSCs. The IFP is an easily accessible tissue as it is routinely resected and discarded during arthroscopic procedures and knee replacement surgeries. Additionally, its removal is associated with minimal donor site morbidity. Recent studies have demonstrated that IFP-MSCs do not lose their proliferation capacity during in vitro expansion and have age-independent osteogenic differentiation potential. IFP-MSCs possess superior chondrogenic differentiation potential compared to bone marrow-derived MSCs (BMSCs) and adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs). Although these cells are easily obtainable from aged and diseased patients, their effectiveness is limited. Hence, using IFP-MSCs from healthy donors is important to determine their efficacy in biomedical applications. As access to a healthy human donor is challenging, animal models could be a better alternative to enable fundamental understanding. Large animals such as dogs, horses, sheep, and goats play a crucial role in translational research. Amongst these, the goat could be a preferred model since the stifle joint of the goat has the closest anatomy to the human knee joint. Moreover, goat-IFP can fulfill the higher MSC numbers needed for tissue regeneration applications. Furthermore, low cost, availability, and compliance with the 3R principles for animal research make them an attractive model. This study demonstrates a simple protocol for isolating IFP-MSCs from the stifle joint of goats and in vitro culture conditions for their expansion and differentiation. The aseptically isolated IFP from the goat was washed, minced, and digested enzymatically. After filtration and centrifugation, the collected cells were cultured. These cells were adherent, had MSCs-like morphology, and demonstrated remarkable clonogenic ability. Further, they differentiated into adipogenic, chondrogenic, and osteogenic lineages, demonstrating their multipotency. In conclusion, the study demonstrates the isolation and expansion of MSCs, which show potential in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications.

Introduction

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are an attractive candidate for cell-based therapies in regenerative medicine^1,2. They can be harvested from a variety of tissue sources such as bone marrow, umbilical cord, placenta, dental pulp, and subcutaneous adipose tissue³. However, as the availability of stem cells in adults is limited and their isolation procedure is often invasive (resulting in donor site morbidity), it is desirable to have an alternative stem cell source that could circumvent these challenges.

The knee joint is a depot of various cell types, such as in....

Protocol

The protocol is based on the isolation of IFP-MSCs from goats. Goat IFP and blood were collected from a local abattoir. Since such tissue collections are outside the purview of an Institutional Animal Ethics Committee, ethical approval was not required.

1. Isolation of IFP-MSCs from the femorotibial joint of goat knee

1. Collect goat femorotibial joint (sample) encompassing ~15 cm each of the femoral and tibial regions of the hind limbs. Immediately place the sample i.......

Discussion

In the present protocol, a simple, reliable, and reproducible method for the isolation of MSCs from goat IFP has been provided. Cells isolated using this method have been successfully used in our previous studies for in vitro tissue regeneration. It was observed that the isolated cells were proliferative, were responsive to various growth factors, and retained their biological activity when seeded on electrospun fibers and scaffolds^25,26. Moreover, it wa.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
β-glycerophosphate	Sigma-Aldrich	G9422-10G	10 mM
0.25% Trypsin- 0.02% EDTA	Hi-Media	TCL049
15-mL centrifuge tube	Corning
2-Phospho-L-ascorbic acid trisodium salt	Sigma	49752-10G	50 µg/mL
2-Propanol	Sigma-Aldrich	I9516
4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid (HEPES)	HiMedia	TCL021-50ml	10 mM
50-mL centrifuge tube	Corning
Alcian Blue	Hi-Media	RM471	For sufated gycosaminoglycans staining
Alizarin Red S	S D Fine-Chem Limited	26048-25G	For calcium deposition
Amphotericin B	HiMedia	A011	2.5 µg/mL
Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF)	Sino Biologicals	10014-HNAE	5 ng/mL
BCIP/NBT ALP Substrate	Sigma	B5655-5TAB	For ALP staining
Biological safety cabinet
BSA	HiMedia	MB-083	Long name: Bovine Serum Albumin (1.25 mg/mL )
Cell strainer	HiMedia	TCP-182	70 µm
Centrifuge	REMI
Ciprofloxacin	RANBAXY LAB. Limited	B17407T1	2.5 µg/mL
Crystal Violet	S D Fine-Chem Limited	42555
D(+)-glucose	Merck	1.94925.0521	25 mM
Dexamethasone	Sigma-Aldrich	D2915	1 µM
DMEM LG	SIGMA	D5523	Long name: Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle’s Media Low Glucose
Ethanol	Merck	100983
FBS	Gibco	10270	Long name: Fetal Bovine Serum
Formaldehyde solution 37%-41%	Merck	61780805001730
Indomethacin	Sigma-Aldrich	I7378	100 µM
Insulin	Sigma-Aldrich	I9278	10 µg/mL
Inverted microscope	Nikon Eclipse TS 100
ITS + 1	Sigma-Aldrich	I2521-5mL	Long name: insulin, transferrin, sodium selenite + linoleic-BSA
L-Proline	HiMedia	TO-109-25G	1 mM
Magnesium chloride	Merck	61751605001730	For lysis buffer
Methanol	Meck	1.07018.2521
Micropipettes and sterile tips (20 µL, 200 µL, 1000 µL)	Thermoscientific
MUSE Cell analyser	Merck Millipore		For cell counting
OCT compound	Tissue-Tek	4583	Long name: Optimal Cutting Temperature
Oil Red O dye	S D Fine-Chem Limited	54304	For lipid vacuole staining
Penicillin-Streptomycin	HiMedia	A007	100 U/mL
Petri dishes (150 mm and 90 mm)	NEST
Safranin O	S D Fine-Chem Limited	50240	For sufated gycosaminoglycans staining
Sodium citrate	Sigma-Aldrich	C3434	3.4 % (w/v)
Sterile scissors, forceps and scalpels			For isolation of IFP-MSC
Sucrose	Merck	1.94953.0521	35 % (w/v)
TGF-β1	Sino Biologicals		Long name: Transforming growth factor- β1 (10 ng/mL)
Tissue culture incubator 37 °C, 5% CO2	Thermoscientific
Tris buffer	Merck	61771405001730	For lysis buffer
Triton X100	S D Fine-Chem Limited	40632	For lysis buffer
Type II collagenase	Gibco	17101015	1.5 mg/mL
Vitamin D3	Sigma	C9756-1G	10 nM
Well plates (6 -WP and 24-WP)	NEST