Growth factors reduce the suppression of proliferation and osteogenic differentiation by titanium particles on MSCs

This study was conducted to test the hypothesis that growth factors can reduce the suppressive effect of titanium particles on MSCs. Cultured human MSCs at passage 3 were challenged with prepared cpTi particles at a concentration of 500 particles/cell along with one of the following growth factors: TGF-beta(1) (10 ng/mL), FGF-2 (10 ng/mL), IGF-I (100 ng/mL), and BMP-6 (50 ng/mL). After various periods of time, the treatment effects on cellular proliferation, viability, and osteogenic differentiation were measured. All the four growth factors positively promoted cell proliferation and viability to a varying extent. FGF-2 most effectively enhanced cell proliferation, whereas IGF-I was the most effective growth factor for enhancing cell viability. FGF-2, IGF-I, and BMP-6 reversed the titanium-mediated suppression of osteogenic differentiation, BMP-6 being the most effective one. Various growth factors can mitigate the suppressive effects of titanium particles on MSCs and enhance cell proliferation, viability, and osteogenic differentiation.