Bone transplantation is one of the most widely performed clinical procedures. Consequently, bone regeneration using mesenchymal stem cells and tissue engineering strategies is one of the most widely researched fields in regenerative medicine. Recent scientific consensus indicates that a biomimetic approach is required to achieve proper regeneration of any tissue. Exosomes are nanovesicles secreted by cells that act as messengers that influence cell fate. Although exosomal function has been studied with respect to cancer and immunology, the role of exosomes as inducers of stem cell differentiation has not been explored. We hypothesized that exosomes can be used as biomimetic tools for regenerative medicine. In this study we have explored the use of cell‐generated exosomes as tools to induce lineage specific differentiation of stem cells. Our results indicate that proosteogenic exosomes isolated from cell cultures can induce lineage specific differentiation of naïve MSCs in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, exosomes can also bind to matrix proteins such as type I collagen and fibronectin enabling them to be tethered to biomaterials. Overall, the results from this study show the potential of cell derived exosomes in bone regenerative medicine and opens up new avenues for future research.

Mesenchymal stem cells show remarkable versatility and respond to extracellular and micro environmental cues by altering their phenotype and behavior. In this regard, the MSC’s immunomodulatory properties in tissue repair are well documented. The paracrine effects of MSCs in immunomodulation are, in part, attributable to their secreted extracellular vesicles (EVs). When MSCs migrate to the wound bed, they are exposed to a myriad of inflammatory signals. To understand their response to an inflammatory environment from an EV perspective, we sought to evaluate the effects of the inflammatory cytokine TNFα on MSC EV mediated immunomodulation. Our results indicate that while the physical characteristics of the EVs remain unchanged, the TNFα preconditioned MSC EVs possess enhanced immunomodulatory properties. In vitro experiments using polarized (M1 and M2) primary mouse macrophages indicated that the preconditioned MSC EVs suppressed pro-inflammatory (M1) markers such as IL-1β and iNOS and elevated reparatory (M2) markers such as Arg1 and CD206. When evaluated in vivo in a rat calvarial defect model, the TNFα preconditioned MSC EVs reduced inflammation at 1-, 3- and 7-days post wounding resulting in the subsequent enhanced bone formation at 4- and 8-weeks post wounding possibly by modulation of oncostatin M (OSM) expression. An analysis of EV miRNA composition revealed significant changes to anti-inflammatory miRNAs in the preconditioned MSC EVs hinting at a possible role for EV derived miRNA in the enhanced immunomodulatory activity. Overall, these results indicate that MSC exposure to inflammatory signals influence the MSC EV’s immunomodulatory function in the context of tissue repair. The specific function of TNFα preconditioned MSC EV miRNAs in immunomodulatory control of bone regeneration merits further investigation.