Application of tissue-derived bioink for articular cartilage lesion repair

Abstract

Articular cartilage (AC) lesions are common but remain a great challenge for researchers and clinicians mainly due to their poor self-healing capability. Decellularized cartilage extracellular matrix (dCECM) derived from natural cartilage, and the incorporated growth factors have been used for potential chondrocyte induction and cartilage tissue regeneration. Moreover, infrapatellar fat pad adipose-derived stem cells (IPFP-ADSCs) have been proven to be an optimal source of seeded cells for AC lesion restoration. Therefore, the therapeutic role of dCECM-incorporated bioink with IPFP-ADSCs loaded in 3D (three-dimensional) scaffolds remain to be explored using an osteochondral defect model. In this work, we successfully extracted IPFP-ADSCs and isolated dCECMs, which were then mixed in a temperature-responsive hydrogel to form a 3D bioink. The 3D bioprinting scaffolds printed with dCECM successfully facilitated chondrogenic differentiation-related growth factor expression in IPFP-ADSCs. Most importantly, implantation of the 3D dCECMs with an IPFP-ADSC-loaded scaffold was capable of providing a favorable cell matrix for stem cell proliferation and promoted chondrogenic differentiation, thereby greatly enhancing successful cartilage repair in rabbit cartilage defects.