Fig. 1. Optimization of the experimental model of chondrogenesis in BMSC on nanofibrous PLLA scaffolds by collagen coating.
A – Visualization of cell morphology by immunostaining for actin cytoskeleton in hBMSCs cultured on non-coated PLLA scaffolds (Ctrl) or scaffolds coated with collagen type I (Coll I) or type II (Coll II). B,C – Quantitation of cell attachment and spreading of hBMSCs on PLLA scaffolds either non-coated (Ctrl) or coated with collagen type I (C-I) or collagen type II (C-II). B – Cell attachment is shown as fold increased in the number of attached cells compared to control PLLA scaffolds. Collagen coating enhances attachment (3 independent experiments, **, p< 0.01). C – Deposition of cartilaginous glycosaminoglycan (GAG) rich matrix by hBMSCs is enhanced on the collagen type II-coated PLLA scaffolds compared to collagen type I-coating as compared to GAG deposition on control untreated PLLA scaffolds.