The synergistic effect of a BMP-7 derived peptide and cyclic RGD in regulating differentiation behaviours of mesenchymal stem cells

Precisely controlling the behaviours of stem cells has far-reaching application potential in clinical trials. In this study, we have developed a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of a cyclic RGD peptide (cycRGD) and bone forming peptide-1 (BFP-1) on a quartz substrate to regulate the behaviours of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The results demonstrated that cycRGD can accelerate the cell adhesion on the substrate, thereby enhancing the ability of BFP-1 in mediating the osteogenic activity. And the synergistic effect between these two functional peptides in osteogenic differentiation of MSCs was confirmed in terms of immunofluorescent staining, Alizarin Red S staining for mineralization and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity assay. This finding might give a new insight into designing functional substrates to regulate desired differentiation of stem cells.