Osteogenic differentiation of rat bone mesenchymal stem cells cultured on bioceramic scaffolds (alpha-TCP-RL, SiTCP-RL, and SiTCP-RC).

We evaluated the viability of Vero and the osteogenic differentiation potential of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) cells cultured on alpha-TCP-RL, SiTCP-RL, and SiTCP-RC bioceramic scaffolds. Viability of Vero cells and MSCs were evaluated by the MTT assay. The morphological pattern of the two cell types was analyzed by SEM. The functional activity of MSCs was evaluated by a cytochemical assay and osteogenic differentiation by Alizarin red staining and ALP activity. In the MTT assay, Vero cells showed high activity in the extract cytotoxicity test but low activity in the direct contact test. SEM morphological analysis showed the spread of cells with irregular and flattened morphology on the different substrates. We found a smaller number of MSCs than Vero cells on the ceramics. The cytochemical analysis revealed MSCs indicating high functional activity. We observed signs of osteogenic differentiation of MSCs by quantification of ALP activity and formation of mineralized organic matrix.