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World J Stem Cells. Apr 26, 2015; 7(3): 568-582
Published online Apr 26, 2015. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v7.i3.568
Vibration stimuli and the differentiation of musculoskeletal progenitor cells: Review of results in vitro and in vivo
Jennifer Helen Edwards, Gwendolen Clair Reilly
Jennifer Helen Edwards, Gwendolen Clair Reilly, Kroto Research Institute and INSIGNEO Institute for in silico Medicine, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Sheffield, S1 3JD Sheffield, United Kingdom
Jennifer Helen Edwards, Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT Leeds, United Kingdom
Author contributions: Edwards JH researched the articles and wrote the manuscript; Reilly GC advised on structure and edited the manuscript.
Supported by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
Conflict-of-interest: No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Jennifer Helen Edwards, PhD, Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT Leeds, United Kingdom. j.h.edwards@leeds.ac.uk
Telephone: +44-113-3435617
Received: August 1, 2014
Peer-review started: August 2, 2014
First decision: October 14, 2014
Revised: November 25, 2014
Accepted: December 16, 2014
Article in press: December 17, 2014
Published online: April 26, 2015
Processing time: 265 Days and 8.4 Hours
Abstract

Due to the increasing burden on healthcare budgets of musculoskeletal system disease and injury, there is a growing need for safe, effective and simple therapies. Conditions such as osteoporosis severely impact on quality of life and result in hundreds of hours of hospital time and resources. There is growing interest in the use of low magnitude, high frequency vibration (LMHFV) to improve bone structure and muscle performance in a variety of different patient groups. The technique has shown promise in a number of different diseases, but is poorly understood in terms of the mechanism of action. Scientific papers concerning both the in vivo and in vitro use of LMHFV are growing fast, but they cover a wide range of study types, outcomes measured and regimens tested. This paper aims to provide an overview of some effects of LMHFV found during in vivo studies. Furthermore we will review research concerning the effects of vibration on the cellular responses, in particular for cells within the musculoskeletal system. This includes both osteogenesis and adipogenesis, as well as the interaction between MSCs and other cell types within bone tissue.

Keywords: Mesenchymal stem cells; Mechanobiology; Osteogenesis; Whole body vibration; Adipogenesis, osteoporosis; Low magnitude, high frequency vibration loading

Core tip: Low magnitude, high frequency vibrations are attracting growing interest as a non-invasive therapy for a variety of different disorders. The number of studies aimed at elucidating the effects of vibration both in vivo and in vitro is increasing rapidly. This review aims to provide an introductory overview of the in vivo data for a broad range of human applications and animal models. In vitro work is covered in more detail, focusing in particular on studies concerning the effects of vibration on cells derived from the musculoskeletal system.