Effects of cell adhesion molecules on adhesion of chondrocytes, ligament cells and mesenchymal stem cells

Smooth cell seeding and cell adhesion on temporary porous scaffolds are critical for tissue engineering. We investigated that the effects of type I collagen, type II collagen, fibronectin, vitronectin and poly-l-lysine, laminin, chondroitin-4-sulfate, chondroitin-6-sulfate, aggrecan and hyaluronic acid on adhesion of articular chondrocytes, ligament cells and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), for well understanding the interaction between adhesion molecules and diverse kinds of cells. The cell adhesion molecules were coated on the surfaces of 96-well culture plates. The cells were inoculated and cultured in the wells for 30 min, and subsequently, the number of adhered cells was determined. Type I collagen, type II collagen, fibronectin, vitronectin and poly-l-lysine promoted significantly more cell adhesion than laminin, chondroitin-4-sulfate, chondroitin-6-sulfate, aggrecan and hyaluronic acid. MSCs showed a similar adhesion tendency as ligament cells. These two kinds of cells adhered significantly more on fibronectin-coated surface than on type I collagen-, type II collagen-, vitronectin- and poly-l-lysine-coated surfaces, while the effect was decreased for chondrocytes. Fibronectin showed to be most potential to promote cell adhesion, and thus would be effective to be incorporated into porous scaffolds for tissue engineering of cartilage and ligament.