MASCs Differentiate into Cartilage
Jan 12, 2024·By Scott Brovsky
ASC Bio's MASCs (Multipotent Adult Stem Cells ) differentiate into many different cell types in vitro. We do this by treating the adherent MASCs with logarithmic doses of dexamethason, from 10-10 M to 10-6 M. Of course, 0 M dexamethasone is the control One of the cell types that the MASCs differentiate into is cartilage. However, what is interesting is that we see different morphologies of cartilage. At 10-6 M dexamethasone we see this:
![chondrocytes with surrounding fibroblast-like cells](https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/18tCaZkO5OPynOQi6GCqRsvi7n2A0brqDIN1Fuu3ZxhCM5vzqwEMhL0fRsgV1xoc.png)
But at 10-9 M dexamethasone, we see this morphology:
![These are chondrocytes but appear not to have any surrounding cells.](https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/16Uppw6dW1O3QjoKyU00IG9CzcQzcqoAqxejPehOkn3oEaciyF0nynHh4PWR1ltE.png)
It is possible that these are 2 different types of cartilage. The top could be fibrocartilage while the bottom would be articular chondrocytes. Further development in regrowing cartilage at ASC Bio is ongoing.