Human Infrapatellar Fat Pad-Derived Stromal Cells Have More Potent Differentiation Capacity Than Other Mesenchymal Cells and Can Be Enhanced by Hyaluronan

The microenvironment plays an important role in the homing in and differentiation of stem cells to repair injured tissue. Infrapatellar fat pad stromal cells (IFPSCs) are a promising source of such cells for the repair of articular injury-induced degeneration. This study investigated the chemotaxis of IFPSCs to chondrocytes and the effect of hyaluronan (HA) on the biological and regenerative properties of IFPSCs. The IFPSCs were obtained from patients undergoing arthroscopy and cultured via a standard 2-week culture protocol that yielded more than 10 million cells on passage 3. The results showed that the IFPSCs had a higher capacity for chondrogenic differentiation than mesenchymal cells from body fat, bone marrow, and Wharton's jelly of the umbilical cord. The IFPSCs cultured on 25% or 50% HA showed better osteogenic and adipogenic capabilities than those without HA or with 75% HA (p<0.001). Cultures of the IFPSCs on 25% HA had a fourfold increase in chondrogenic differentiation compared to cultures without HA, which was better than with 50% and 75% HA (p<0.05). Cell proliferation was not affected by the presence of HA. In conclusion, IFPSCs have a strong potential for chondrogenic regeneration, which can even be augmented in a 25% HA microenvironment.