In recent years, there has been a growing emphasis on use of human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs)for cartilage tissue engineering owing to their ability to differentiate into chondrocytes, which is mainly induced by growth factors (GFs). In general, GFs for chondrogenic induction come from the transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) superfamily. To date, the most commonly used GFs for chondrogenes is TGF-β1/3. However, the response of hADSCs to GFs may differ significantly from that of human bone marrow stem cells (hBMSCs). It has been reported that bone morphogenetic protein-6 (BMP-6) treatment induced TGF-β receptor-Ⅰ expression of hADSCs. It seems that these two cell populations varied strongly in their potency to undergo chondrogenesis in the same medium conditions. Here, we provide a concise review on various GFs used in chondrogenic differentiation of hADSCs in vitro.
