Abstract
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a multifactorial disease leading to degeneration of articular cartilage, causing morbidity in approximately 8.5 million of the UK population. As the dense extracellular matrix of articular cartilage is primarily composed of collagen, cartilage repair strategies have exploited the biocompatibility and mechanical strength of bovine and porcine collagen to produce robust scaffolds for procedures such as matrix-induced chondrocyte implantation (MACI). However, mammalian sourced collagens pose safety risks such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, transmissible spongiform encephalopathy and possible transmission of viral vectors. This study characterised a non-mammalian jellyfish (Rhizostoma pulmo) collagen as an alternative, safer source in scaffold production for clinical use. Jellyfish collagen demonstrated comparable scaffold structural properties and stability when compared to mammalian collagen. Jellyfish collagen also displayed comparable immunogenic responses (platelet and leukocyte activation/cell death) and cytokine release profile in comparison to mammalian collagen in vitro. Further histological analysis of jellyfish collagen revealed bovine chondroprogenitor cell invasion and proliferation in the scaffold structures, where the scaffold supported enhanced chondrogenesis in the presence of TGFβ1. This study highlights the potential of jellyfish collagen as a safe and biocompatible biomaterial for both OA repair and further regenerative medicine applications.
Highlights
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common degenerative disease that affects the entire synovial joint with articular cartilage sustaining the most critical damage [1]
To assess R. pulmo collagen for use in matrix-assisted repair strategies, extracted collagen was manufactured into sponge scaffold constructs (JCol) and compared with research grade rat-tail collagen (RTCol), bovine collagen (BCol) and clinical grade bovine gelatin (BGel) a source of denatured collagen
These results indicate that jellyfish collagen (JCol) is comparable to BCol in neutrophil activation within was comparable with the other collagen scaffolds (RTCol, BCol and BGel) in DRAQ7 human blood
Summary
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common degenerative disease that affects the entire synovial joint with articular cartilage sustaining the most critical damage [1]. OA significantly impairs the quality of life of 8.5 million people in the UK due to chronic pain and limited joint movement [2]. The prevalence of OA is expected to rise with increasing life expectancy [3], resulting in a high economic burden for health care providers. The National Health Service (NHS) and wider healthcare systems in the UK spent £10.2 billion treating both OA and rheumatoid arthritis in 2017, with a cost of £118.6 billion projected over the decade. These diseases cost the UK economy £2.58 billion a year through 25 million lost working days in 2017 [4]. More effective treatment strategies are urgently needed to combat patient morbidity resulting from OA
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