Comparison of the chondrogenic differentiation potential of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells between female and male Wistar rats

ABSTRACT This study aimed to compare the chondrogenic differentiation potential between bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells from female (fBMSCs) and male (mBMSCs) Wistar rats. For this purpose, female and male BMSCs were subjected to chondrogenic differentiation for 7, 14 and 21 days for evaluation of cell morphology (14 and 21 days), formation of PAS+ chondrogenic matrix (21 days) and gene expression of aggrecan (Agg), collagen II (Col II) and Sox9 by RT-qPCR at 7, 14 and 21 days. Both fBMSCs and mBMSCs showed cell viability greater than 90%. After differentiation, the two groups showed morphologically similar cells at 14 and 21 days; PAS+ matrix formation was higher in fBMSCs when compared with mBMSCs. The Agg gene expression of mBMSCs was higher when compared with fBMSCs (p<0.05) at 21 days; however, the expression of Col II and Sox9 genes at 14 days was higher in fBMSCs compared to mBMSCs (p<0.05). Regarding the expression of genes over time, both in fBMSCs and in mBMSCs, the expression of Agg was lower at 21 days. BMSCs from female Wistar rats showed a greater chondrogenic differentiation potential compared to BMSCs from males.