Abstract
Cartilage lesions can lead to progressive cartilage degeneration; moreover, they involve the subchondral bone, resulting in osteoarthritis (OA) onset and progression. Bioactive glasses, with the dual function of supporting both bone and cartilage regeneration, have become a promising biomaterial for cartilage/bone engineering applications. This is especially true for those containing therapeutic ions, which act as ion delivery systems and may further promote cartilage repair. In this study, we successfully fabricated Mg-containing bioactive glass nanospheres (Mg-BGNs) and constructed three different scaffolds, DCECM, Mg-BGNs-1/DCECM (1% Mg-BGNs), and Mg-BGNs-2/DCECM (10% Mg-BGNs) scaffold, by incorporating Mg-BGNs into decellularized cartilage extracellular matrix (DCECM). All three scaffolds showed favorable microarchitectural and ion controlled-release properties within the ideal range of pore size for tissue engineering applications. Furthermore, all scaffolds showed excellent biocompatibility and no signs of toxicity. Most importantly, the addition of Mg-BGNs to the DCECM scaffolds significantly promoted cell proliferation and enhanced chondrogenic differentiation induction of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in pellet culture in a dose-dependent manner. Collectively, the multifunctional Mg-BGNs/DCECM composite scaffold not only demonstrated biocompatibility but also a significant chondrogenic response. Our study suggests that the Mg-BGNs/DCECM composite scaffold would be a promising tissue engineering tool for osteochondral lesions, with the ability to simultaneously stimulate articular cartilage and subchondral bone regeneration.
Highlights
It is well known that articular cartilage lesions can lead to progressive cartilage degeneration; these lesions involve the subchondral bone
We found that cartilage-derived extracellular matrix scaffolds can promote stem cell migration, proliferation, cartilage differentiation, and enhance in vivo cartilage defect repair; it can be considered a promising alternative tissue engineering scaffold for the treatment of articular cartilage defects [12,13]
We evaluated the induction of chondrogenic differentiation of decellularized cartilage extracellular matrix (DCECM), Mg-BGNs1/DCECM, and Mg-containing bioactive glass nanospheres (Mg-BGNs)-2/DCECM scaffolds in Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells (BMSCs) pellets using a Transwell system
Summary
It is well known that articular cartilage lesions can lead to progressive cartilage degeneration; these lesions involve the subchondral bone. This results in an early onset of osteoarthritis (OA) [1,2]. As articular cartilage lacks an innate self-repair ability with avascularity, it poses a significant challenge for cartilage regeneration [4]. Tissue engineering strategies, which involve a combination of cells and bioactive scaffolds, have become a promising approach for cartilage repair and regeneration [5]. Bioactive scaffolds play a significant role in tissue engineering [6]. The scaffold should provide bioactive stimuli for target tissue regeneration and formation [7]
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