ArticleArthritis research & therapy2014
Growth differentiation factor 6 and transforming growth factor-beta differentially mediate mesenchymal stem cell differentiation, composition, and micromechanical properties of nucleus pulposus constructs.
Article in Arthritis research & therapy, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 97 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
97 citing papers in PubMed, 159 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evolving Landscape of Regenerative Therapies: Cell-Based and Cell-Free Approaches for Chronic Low Back Pain.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Preconditioning Mesenchymal Stem Cells to Enhance Performance in the Degenerate Nucleus Pulposus.Tissue engineering. Part B, Reviews · 2026Review
- The notochord: development, disease and stem cell-based modelling.Development (Cambridge, England) · 2026Review
- From Bench to Bedside: Translational Barriers in Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy for Intervertebral Disc Degeneration.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Emerging concepts in osteoarthritis and musculoskeletal diseases: Insights from the University of Debrecen Musculoskeletal Symposium 2025.Osteoarthritis and cartilage open · 2026Article
- Exploring Injectable Scaffolded Spheroids for Nucleus Pulposus Therapy in Degenerated Intervertebral Discs.ACS applied materials & interfaces · 2026Article
- Microgravity-induced transcriptional reprogramming in embryonic chicken limb bud-derived chondrogenic cultures.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026Article
- Mesenchymal stem cell and exosome-based therapies for degenerative disc disease: from mechanisms to clinical translation.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026Review
- Stem cell activation in organ culture reveals novel transcriptional programs underlying metabolic, fibrotic, vascular, and immune dysregulation in uterine leiomyomas.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026Article
- Mesenchymal stem cells and the central nervous system: historical perspectives and future directions.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2026Review
- Understanding the Microenvironment of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration: A Comprehensive Review of Pathophysiological Insights and Therapeutic Implications.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Engineering Intervertebral Disc Regeneration: Biomaterials, Cell Sources and Animal Models.Cell proliferation · 2025Review
- 14. Discogenic Low Back Pain.Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain · 2025Review
- Current Mechanobiological Pathways and Therapies Driving Spinal Health.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Regenerative strategies for intervertebral disc degeneration.Journal of orthopaedic translation · 2025Review
- MOTS-c-modified functional self-assembly peptide hydrogels enhance the activity of nucleus pulposus-derived mesenchymal stem cells of intervertebral disc degeneration.Materials today. Bio · 2025Article
- Review of Recent Treatment Strategies for Lumbar Disc Herniation (LDH) Focusing on Nonsurgical and Regenerative Therapies.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Harnessing CRISPR potential for intervertebral disc regeneration strategies.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2025Review
- Innovative strategies in combating intervertebral disc degeneration: pathological mechanisms and biomaterial advancements.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2025Review
- Stem cell-based strategies for intervertebral disc regeneration in degenerative microenvironments: challenges and solutions.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2025Review
37 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
introductionCurrently, there is huge research focus on the development of novel cell-based regeneration and tissue-engineering therapies for the treatment of intervertebral disc degeneration and the associated back pain. Both bone marrow-derived (BM) mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and adipose-derived MSCs (AD-MSCs) are proposed as suitable cells for such therapies. However, currently no consensus exists as to the optimum growth factor needed to drive differentiation to a nucleus pulposus (NP)-like phenotype. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of growth differentiation factor-6 (GDF6), compared with other transforming growth factor (TGF) superfamily members, on discogenic differentiation of MSCs, the matrix composition, and micromechanics of engineered NP tissue constructs.
methodsPatient-matched human AD-MSCs and BM-MSCs were seeded into type I collagen hydrogels and cultured in differentiating media supplemented with TGF-β3, GDF5, or GDF6. After 14 days, quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis of chondrogenic and novel NP marker genes and sulfated glycosaminoglycan (sGAG) content of the construct and media components were measured. Additionally, construct micromechanics were analyzed by using scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM).
resultsGDF6 stimulation of BM-MSCs and AD-MSCs resulted in a significant increase in expression of novel NP marker genes, a higher aggrecan-to-type II collagen gene expression ratio, and higher sGAG production compared with TGF-β or GDF5 stimulation. These effects were greater in AD-MSCs than in BM-MSCs. Furthermore, the acoustic-wave speed measured by using SAM, and therefore tissue stiffness, was lowest in GDF6-stiumlated AD-MSC constructs.
conclusionsThe data suggest that GDF6 stimulation of AD-MSCs induces differentiation to an NP-like phenotype and results in a more proteoglycan-rich matrix. Micromechanical analysis shows that the GDF6-treated AD-MSCs have a less-stiff matrix composition, suggesting that the growth factor is inducing a matrix that is more akin to the native NP-like tissue. Thus, this cell and growth-factor combination may be the ideal choice for cell-based intervertebral disc (IVD)-regeneration therapies.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.