Novel Nitrogen Rich Polymers and Chitosan for Tissue Engineering of Intervertebral Discs

Fackson Mwale,Michael R Wertheimer,John Antoniou

doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/ast.57.117

Fackson Mwale, Michael R Wertheimer + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/ast.57.117

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Publication Date: Sep 2, 2008
Citations: 1	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: McGill University, Polytechnique Montréal

Abstract

Degenerative disc disease has been implicated as a major component of spine pathology. However, though biological repair of the degenerate disc would be the ideal treatment, there is a lack of a universally accepted scaffold for tissue engineering of intervertebral discs (IVD) and little is known of how to differentiate mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to a disc-like phenotype. We show that 2.5% Protasan® UP G213 cross-linked to 5% genipin might be a promising scaffold for disc tissue engineering. Furthermore, we have developed extremely N-rich plasma polymer layers, which we call "PPE:N" (N-doped plasma-polymerized ethylene, containing up to 36% [N]). We show that PPE:N almost completely suppresses the expression not only of type X collagen, but also of osteogenic marker genes such as alkaline phosphatase (ALP), bone sialoprotein (BSP) and osteocalcin (OC). In contrast, neither aggrecan nor types 1 collagen expression were significantly affected. These results indicate that PPE:N coatings may be suitable surfaces for inducing MSCs to a chondrocyte or disc-like phenotype for tissue engineering of cartilage or IVDs, in which hypertrophy and osteogenesis are suppressed.

Highlights

Low back pain is one of the most frequent health problems that, by age 70, affect about 60% of the population [1]
Recent evidence indicates that a major drawback of current cartilage or intervertebral disc (IVD) tissue engineering is that human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) rapidly express type X collagen [13,14] - a marker of chondrocyte hypertrophy associated with endochondral ossification [15,16]
Our studies indicated that a major drawback for current cartilage- and IVD-tissue engineering is that those cells express type X collagen and osteogenic markers that suggest a commitment to bone formation [14,31,44,46]

Summary

Introduction

Low back pain is one of the most frequent health problems that, by age 70, affect about 60% of the population [1]. Recent evidence indicates that a major drawback of current cartilage or IVD tissue engineering is that human MSCs rapidly express type X collagen [13,14] - a marker of chondrocyte hypertrophy associated with endochondral ossification [15,16].

Results

Conclusion