This study was undertaken to compare the activity of beta-Ig H3 (BigH3) and transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta on chondrogenesis by mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs).

MSCs in human bone marrow aspirated from 20 healthy donors were isolated by density gradient Ficoll-hypaque separation and expanded in culture. MSC-alginate beads were prepared and incubated for 28 days in the presence of 0.5 or 10 ng/mL of TGF-beta 1, TGF-beta 1+TGF-beta 3 or BigH3. Cellular viability, total collagen and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) contents were measured and compared. SPSS version 9.0 was used for the statistical analysis.

TGF-beta 3 significantly enhanced cell viability in beads by day 21 (p=0.029). No significant differences were found in terms of cell viability (p=0.197) or in total GAG content (p=0.253) between 10 ng/mL of TGF-beta 1+3 and 10 ng/mL of BigH3. Total collagen content was higher in the BigH3 added group on day 21 (p=0.041).

The replacement of BigH3 instead of TGF-beta produced appropriate external signals indicating the chondrogenic differentiation of human bone marrow MSCs.