Characteristics of chondrocyte scaffold carriers for cell-based gene therapeutic repair of articular cartilage

Abstract

Objective To characterize the viability and transgene expression of articular chon-drocytes cultured in 3-Dimensional scaffolds provided by four types of carriers.Methods Articular chondrocytes from rabbit knees were cultured and infected with adenovirus that could express green fluo-rescence protein (AdGFP) and GL3 luciferase (AdGL3-Luc).The viability and gene expression were determined with fluorescence microscopy and luciferase assays in four types of scaffolds;type I collagen sponge, fibrin glue, hyaluronan and open-cell polylactic acid (OPLA).Cartilage matrix production was assessed by Alcian blue staining.Results Articular chondrocytes of rabbits were effectively infected by AdGFP and exhibited sustained GFP expression.All the tested scaffolds supported the survival and gene expression of the infected chondrocytes.However, the highest transgene expression was observed in the OPLA carrier (P<0.01).Alcian blue-positive matrix materials were readily detected in OPLA cultures four weeks later.Conclusion OPLA supports the highest transgene expression and is the most conduc-tive scaffold for matrix production, suggesting that OPLA may be a suitable scaffold for cell-based gene therapy of articular cartilage repair. Key words: Cartilage; Open-cell polylactic acid; Scaffold carrier