Comparison of potentials of stem cells isolated from tendon and bone marrow for musculoskeletal tissue engineering.

The use of tendon-derived stem cells (TDSCs) as a cell source for musculoskeletal tissue engineering has not been compared with that of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSC). This study compared the mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) and embryonic stem cells (ESC) markers, clonogenicity, proliferative capacity, and multilineage differentiation potential of rat TDSC and BMSC in vitro. The MSC and ESC marker profiles of paired TDSC and BMSC were compared using flow cytometry and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), respectively. Their clonogenicity and proliferative capacity were compared using colony-forming and 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine assays, respectively. The expression of tenogenic, osteogenic, and chondrogenic markers at basal state were examined using qRT-PCR. Their osteogenic, chondrogenic, and adipogenic differentiation potentials were compared using standard assays. TDSC and BMSC showed similar expression of CD90 and CD73. TDSC expressed higher levels of Oct4 than BMSC. TDSC exhibited hi...