Figure 3.

Diameter and biochemical content of microparticle-incorporated hMSC aggregates. (A): Diameters of whole aggregates from a representative donor (donor B) after 5 weeks of culture. (B–E): Average DNA content (B), GAG/DNA content (C), ALP activity (D), and calcium content in weeks 2 (black) and 5 (gray) aggregates (E) for three different hMSC donors. The line in (E) denotes amount of calcium initially within each MCM-containing aggregate assuming 100% incorporation efficiency. ∗, significantly different between time points. ⋄, significantly different from groups 2 and 3; ▵, significantly different from group 3; ●, significantly different from group 6; ▪, significantly different from groups 4 and 6; ♦, significantly different from all other groups; □, significantly different from groups 2, 3, 5, and 6 at specific time point. Abbreviations: ALP, alkaline phosphatase; BMP, bone morphogenetic protein; exo., exogenous; GAG, glycosaminoglycan; GM, gelatin microparticle; MCM, mineral-coated hydroxyapatite microparticle; TGF, transforming growth factor.