Effect of diabetic osteoblasts on osteogenic differentiation of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells

Background. This study was aimed to investigate whether osteoblasts from diabetic patients have a promoting effect on osteogenesis of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells ( HUMSCs). Methods. HUMSCs were co-cultured with osteoblasts of diabetic and non-diabetic patients. Morphological appearance and cytochemical characteristics of the non-diabetic osteoblasts and diabetic osteoblasts were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining, type I collagen protein expression, alkaline phosphatase ( ALP) staining and Alizarin Red S staining. Cell viability, type I collagen protein expression, ALP activity and osteocalcin mRNA expression in HUMSCs were investigated. Results. Compared with negative control group, the cell proliferation, type I collagen protein expression, ALP activity and osteocalcin mRNA were increased in HUMSCs co-cultured with diabetic and non-diabetic osteoblasts (P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the HUMSCs cell proliferation, type I collagen protein expression, ALP activity and osteocalcin mRNA between the non-diabetic and diabetic group (P>0.05). Conclusions. Similar to osteoblasts from non-diabetic patients, osteoblasts from diabetic patients also have the ability to promote HUMSCs proliferation, and leading to HUMSCs exhibit some characteristic of osteoblasts.