Cell growth characteristics of equine synovial fluid stem cells

Equine mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been isolated from various sources such as: peripheral blood, bone marrow, adipose tissue, umbilical cord, placenta, Wharton Jelly. Besides these synovial fluid and synovial membrane represents a promising source of mesenchymal stem cells, which can be harvested by minimally invasive methods. MSCs from these sources have the potential to self-renew and differentiate into multiple lineages such as chondrogenic, adipogenic and osteogenic. The aim of our study was to evaluate the growth characteristics of equine synovial liquid stem cells harvested from the tarsometatarsal joint during arthroscopic surgery. Samples were collected in a sterile syringe and were diluted and centrifuged at 1500rpm for 7 min. The supernatant were removed and the cells were resuspended in propagation medium: Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle’s Medium/F12 (DMEM/F12, Gibco) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS, Gibco) and 1% antibiotic-antimycotic (Sigma-Aldrich). The medium was changed after 3 days. The proliferation ability, cell doubling number, cell doubling time, daily duplication rate and clonogenic efficacy was evaluated. Isolated cells exhibited plastic adherence capacity, monolayer growth, and fibroblast-like morphology, high growth and clonogenic capacity. Our study demonstrated the characteristics of equine synovial fluid derived stem cells, an ideal candidate for veterinary regenerative medicine