Mesenchymal cell response to biomaterials is modulated by their maturation state in their lineage

Osteoblasts and chondrocytes respond to material surface roughness as well as to chemical composition. The effect of these surface characteristics on chondrocyte response depends on the state of endochondral maturation of the cells. Here, the authors present data showing that the maturation state of cells in the osteoblastic lineage is also an important variable in their response to material surfaces. Fetal rat calvarial cells (FRCs), MG63 human osteoblast-like osteosarcoma cells, mouse OCT-1 mature osteoblast-like cells, and mouse MLO-Y4 osteocyte-like cells were cultured on cpTi disks with Ra´s of 0.5, 4 and 5 mm. Cells expressed their differentiated phenotypes only on rough surfaces in a roughness-dependent manner