[The influence of peptides on the chondrogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells during replicative aging.]

Myakisheva SN, Linkova NS, Diatlova AS, Polyakova VO, Ryzhak GA · Advances in Gerontology (Uspekhi Gerontologii)

Both raised gene expression and protein synthesis of the chondrogenic markers SOX9, aggrecan, type II collagen and COMP, at concentrations an order of magnitude apart: AED does it at 200 ng/ml and the complex only at 2,000 ng/ml, having no significant effect on SOX9 or aggrecan at 200. For SOX9, AED raised mRNA 2.4-fold at 200 ng/ml and 2.6-fold at 2,000, with expression area up 2.5 and 2.2-fold, against 3.4-fold mRNA and 2.9-fold protein for the complex at 2,000 ng/ml. Aggrecan is the marker where more AED was not better: 1.4-fold mRNA and 1.6-fold protein at 200 ng/ml, and no effect at all at 2,000, where the complex gave 2.1 and 2.4-fold.

Population

The human mesenchymal stem cell line SC5-MSC from the Institute of Cytology's culture collection in St Petersburg, grown to the 18th passage as the replicative-ageing model

Intervention

AED tripeptide (Cartalax) and the cartilage polypeptide complex (CPC, the Sigumir substance), each at 200 and 2,000 ng/ml

Comparator

Untreated cultures at the same passage

Limitations

Marker expression in a stem-cell line pushed to passage 18, not cartilage tissue and not matrix function: nothing here measures whether matrix is made or holds load. Gene expression and immunocytochemical expression area are the only readouts, reported as fold changes against control without replicate counts. AED's effect on aggrecan is present at the lower concentration and gone at the higher one, which the paper does not discuss. Institute-authored, in a Russian-language journal tied to that institute.