Figure 2.

Effect of hypoxia on MSC fate. Depending on the oxygen concentration and duration of exposure to hypoxia, variable effects have been reported. While prolonged exposure of more than 24 h to acute hypoxia (≤1% O₂) is reported to reduce MSC proliferation and increase apoptosis, prolonged exposure to 2–5% O₂ shows increased chondrogenesis and proliferation, with both promoting and ameliorating effects reported on osteogenesis and adipogenesis. Transient exposure of MSCs to 1–5% O₂ can lead to the upregulation of multipotency and proliferation. Increased osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation potential has been reported for subsequent differentiation of hypoxia pre‐treated MSCs under normoxia.