Abstract
The repair of osteochondral defects is one of the major clinical challenges in orthopaedics. Well-established osteochondral tissue engineering methods have shown promising results for the early treatment of small defects. However, less success has been achieved for the regeneration of large defects, which is mainly due to the mechanical environment of the joint and the heterogeneous nature of the tissue. In this study, we developed a multi-layered osteochondral scaffold to match the heterogeneous nature of osteochondral tissue by harnessing additive manufacturing technologies and combining the established art laser sintering and material extrusion techniques. The developed scaffold is based on a titanium and polylactic acid matrix-reinforced collagen “sandwich” composite system. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the scaffold were examined, and its safety and efficacy in the repair of large osteochondral defects were tested in an ovine condyle model. The 12-week in vivo evaluation period revealed extensive and significantly higher bone in-growth in the multi-layered scaffold compared with the collagen–HAp scaffold, and the achieved stable mechanical fixation provided strong support to the healing of the overlying cartilage, as demonstrated by hyaline-like cartilage formation. The histological examination showed that the regenerated cartilage in the multi-layer scaffold group was superior to that formed in the control group. Chondrogenic genes such as aggrecan and collagen-II were upregulated in the scaffold and were higher than those in the control group. The findings showed the safety and efficacy of the cell-free “translation-ready” osteochondral scaffold, which has the potential to be used in a one-step surgical procedure for the treatment of large osteochondral defects.Graphic abstract
Highlights
Osteochondral defects typically arise from repetitive trauma within the joint, possibly altering the architecture or composition of the bone
It was observed by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) examination that the collagen–polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) showed a highly interconnected porous architecture, and its pore sizes were quantified using the images from micro-CT
A novel multi-layer osteochondral scaffold for the repair and regeneration of large osteochondral defects has been successfully developed by using techniques and materials that are closer to the “translation” phase of additive manufacturing technologies
Summary
Osteochondral defects typically arise from repetitive trauma within the joint, possibly altering the architecture or composition of the bone. Traumatic osteochondral defects affect both the cartilage and the bone. If untreated, these defects will lead to the development of osteoarthritis (OA), where a joint replacement is applied as end-stage treatment. There has been a wealth of proposed solutions for osteochondral defects. Treatments using tissue engineering methods were established, which have demonstrated promising results provided that they are used to treat small osteochondral defects. A lot of research has been carried out on developing osteochondral scaffolds, neither any of the developed products seem to promote satisfactory durable regeneration of cartilage, nor they are suitable for the treatment of large defects [4]. Effective treatment is needed that can prevent or delay the progression of OA and improve the success of healthcare
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