Characterization of common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) could be useful for regenerative medicine because they can be harvested easily from the bone marrow of living donors and the cells can be differentiated into adipogenic, osteogenic, and chondrogenic lineages in vitro. To apply MSCs for the medical treatment of human diseases as regenerative medicine, detailed experimental characterization of the cells is required. Recently, a New World primate, the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), has been widely used as a new human disease model because of its ease of handling and breeding. Although common marmoset MSCs have been established and will be used in preclinical studies of regenerative medicine, the characteristics of these cells remain unclear. Aiming to characterize common marmoset MSCs further, we harvested common marmoset bone marrow-derived cells (cmBMDCs) from the femurs of newborn males. We revealed that the morphology of the cells was similar to common marmoset fibroblasts, and extracellular matrix components, such as gelatin and fibronectin, were effective for their proliferation and formation of colony-forming unit fibroblasts. Furthermore, we were able to differentiate cmBMDCs into adipocytes, osteocytes, and chondrocytes in vitro, and they expressed the MSC markers CD44, CD73, CD90, and CD105, but their expression decreased with increasing passage number. The data demonstrate that cmBMDCs exhibit characteristics of MSCs and thus it would be beneficial to use these cells in preclinical studies.