Osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells could be enhanced by strontium

Strontium is a newly developed drug for decreasing risks of hip or vertebral fractures in postmenopausal women. Experimental studies have suggested that Strontium could enhance new bone formation and decrease the bone resorption. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) is an important category of stem cells which possess the osteogenic differentiation potential and could be used in the bone and cartilage tissue engineering. Here we investigated the effects of strontium on the osteogenic differentiation process of MSC. We found that strontium could enhance the calcium deposition process and promote bone repair, through enhancing the osteogenic differentiation of MSC. This study could help to develop a new strategy to induce the MSC to differentiate into the osteogenic lineage.