In order to address the question if the proliferative ability of MSCs is able to be enhanced by surface topology, mesenchymal stem cells from rat adult bone marrow (r-MSCs) were cultured on polystyrene and polybutadiene honeycomb films without cytokines for cell growth. SEM, AFM and time laps phase contrast imaging demonstrated the anomalous cellular adhesion morphology and division on the honeycomb films that have not been observed so far in vitro culture on 2 dimensional scaffolds.; r-MSCs did not spread at all keeping semispherical shape along culture and divided directly in the semispherical cell bodies. The proliferative ability on polystyrene honeycomb films was about 1.5 times higher than that on the control flat film and commercially available polystyrene culture plates, whereas the polybutadiene honeycomb films did not affect the proliferative ability. The polymer dependence of the proliferative ability might be ascribed to the stiffness of the honeycomb structure dependent on polymer. These results led us to the hypothesis that the polystyrene honeycomb films mimic the topography and stiffness of the niche for r-MSCs, inducing the characteristic cell shape and division which may be similar to those in vivo.
