Human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells differentiate into ligament-like cells with mechanical stimulation in various media

Applying umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) is extremely promising in regenerative medicine. In this study, we determined the effect of mechanical stimulation at 10% strain (5 sec of stretch and 15 sec of relaxation) and various media on differentiation of UC-MSCs into ligament-like cells over 10 days. The effects of various media, such as Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM), Advanced D-MEM (A-DMEM), and MegaCell DMEM (M-DMEM), were investigated. The control group was cultured in DMEM without cyclic strain. These experiments showed that the M-DMEM and A-DMEM groups were better recognized by specific interactions between extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules and membrane proteins compared to that in the DMEM and control groups. ECM production in the M-DMEM group was significantly higher than that in the other groups. Additionally, the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction revealed that mechanical stimulation led to increased collagen-III, a-smooth muscle actin, and tenascin-C expression. Furthermore, mechanical stimulation promoted ligament-like cell differentiation of UC-MSCs, thereby inducing matrix protein expression and synthesis.