Enhanced proliferation and differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells in the gravity-controlled environment.

Background: Human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) present a promising cell source with the potential to be used for curing various intractable diseases, and it is expected that the development of regenerative medicine employing cell-based therapy would be significantly accelerated when such methods are established. For that, powerful methods for selective growth and differentiation of hMSCs should be developed.

Methods: We developed an efficient method for hMSC proliferation and differentiation into osteoblasts and adipocytes using gravity-controlled environments.