Adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (ASCs) are multipotent stem cells which can differentiate into various cell types, including osteocytes and adipocytes. Due to their ease of harvesting, multipotency, and low tumorigenicity, they are a prime candidate for the development of novel interventional approaches in regenerative medicine. ASCs exhibit slow, spontaneous Ca²⁺ oscillations and the manipulation of Ca²⁺ signalling via electrical stimulation was proposed as a potential route for promoting their differentiation in vivo. However, the effects of differentiation-inducing treatments on spontaneous Ca²⁺ oscillations in ASCs are not yet fully characterised. In this study, we used 2-photon live Ca²⁺ imaging to assess the fraction of cells showing spontaneous oscillations and the frequency of the oscillation (measured as interpeak interval-IPI) in ASCs undergoing osteogenic or adipogenic differentiation, using undifferentiated ASCs as controls. The measurements were carried out at 7, 14, and 21 days in vitro (DIV) to assess the effect of time in culture on Ca²⁺ dynamics. We observed that both time and differentiation treatment are important factors associated with a reduced fraction of cells showing Ca²⁺ oscillations, paralleled by increased IPI times, in comparison with untreated ASCs. Both adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation resulted in a reduction in Ca²⁺ dynamics, such as the fraction of cells showing intracellular Ca²⁺ oscillations and their frequency. Adipogenic differentiation was associated with a more pronounced reduction of Ca²⁺ dynamics compared to cells differentiating towards the osteogenic fate. Changes in Ca²⁺ associated oscillations with a specific treatment had already occurred at 7 DIV. Finally, we observed a reduction in Ca²⁺ dynamics over time in untreated ASCs. These data suggest that adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation cell fates are associated with specific changes in spontaneous Ca²⁺ dynamics over time. While this observation is interesting and provides useful information to understand the functional correlates of stem cell differentiation, further studies are required to clarify the molecular and mechanistic correlates of these changes. This will allow us to better understand the causal relationship between Ca²⁺ dynamics and differentiation, potentially leading to the development of novel, more effective interventions for both bone regeneration and control of adipose growth.

Enrico C. Torre

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