Overexpression of TGF- beta 1 enhances chondrogenic differentiation and proliferation of human synovium-derived stem cells

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF- beta ) superfamily proteins play a critical role in proliferation, differentiation, and other functions of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). During chondrogenic differentiation of MSCs, TGF- beta up-regulates chondrogenic gene expression by enhancing the expression of the transcription factor SRY (sex-determining region Y)-box9 (Sox9). In this study, we investigated the effect of continuous TGF- beta 1 overexpression in human synovium-derived MSCs (hSD-MSCs) on immunophenotype, differentiation potential, and proliferation rate. hSD-MSCs were transduced with recombinant retroviruses (rRV) encoding TGF- beta 1. The results revealed that continuous overexpression of TGF- beta 1 did not affect their phenotype as evidenced by flow cytometry and reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR). In addition, continuous TGF- beta 1 overexpression strongly enhanced cell proliferation of hSD-MSCs compared to the control groups. Also, induction of chondrogenesis was more effective in rRV-TGFB-transduced hSD-MSCs as shown by RT-PCR for chondrogenic markers, toluidine blue staining and glycosaminoglycan (GAG)/DNA ratio. Our data suggest that overexpression of TGF- beta 1 positively enhances the proliferation and chondrogenic potential of hSD-MSCs.