The purpose of this study is to confirm whether spontaneous adipocyte generation during chondrogenic induction culture affects the chondrogenic differentiation of porcine skin-derived stem cells (pSSCs). For this purpose, chondrogenic differentiation characteristics and specific marker gene expression were analyzed using cell lines showing different characteristics of spontaneous adipocyte formation. Of the four different lines of pSSCs, the pSSCs-IV line showed higher Oil red O (ORO) and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) extraction levels. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis revealed that the levels of adipogenic markers peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma 2 (PPARγ2) and adipocyte Protein 2 (aP2) mRNAs were significantly higher in pSSCs-IV than those of the other pSSC lines (P<0.05). Among three chondrogenic markers, collagen type II (Col II) and sex determining region Y-box (Sox9) mRNAs were strongly expressed in pSSCs-IV (P<0.05), but not in aggrecan (Agg), which was significantly higher in pSSCs-II (P<0.05). These results demonstrate that the spontaneous adipocyte generation during chondrogenic differentiation has a positive effect on the chondrogenesis of pSSCs. More research is needed on the correlation between adipocyte generation and cartilage formation.

• Hyo-Kyung Bae(College of Veterinary Medicine and Institute of Veterinary Science)
• Bae-Dong Jung(College of Veterinary Medicine and Institute of Veterinary Science)
• Seunghyung Lee(College of Animal Life Sciences, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Korea)
• Choon-Keun Park(College of Animal Life Sciences, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Korea)
• Boo-Keun Yang(College of Animal Life Sciences, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Korea)
• Hee-Tae Cheong(College of Veterinary Medicine and Institute of Veterinary Science) Corresponding author