Abstract
BackgroundUnlike bone tissue, articular cartilage regeneration has not been very successful and has many challenges ahead. We have previously developed injectable hydrogels using photopolymerizable chitosan (MeGC) that supported growth of chondrocytes. In this study, we demonstrate a biofunctional hydrogel for specific use in cartilage regeneration by conjugating transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), a well-documented chondrogenic factor, to MeGC hydrogels impregnating type II collagen (Col II), one of the major cartilaginous extracellular matrix (ECM) components.ResultsTGF-β1 was delivered from MeGC hydrogels in a controlled manner with reduced burst release by chemically conjugating the protein to MeGC. The hydrogel system did not compromise viability of encapsulated human synovium-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hSMSCs). Col II impregnation and TGF-β1 delivery significantly enhanced cellular aggregation and deposition of cartilaginous ECM by the encapsulated cells, compared with pure MeGC hydrogels.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates successful engineering of a biofunctional hydrogel with a specific microenvironment tailored to promote chondrogenesis. This hydrogel system can provide promising efficacious therapeutics in the treatment of cartilage defects.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1754-1611-9-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Unlike bone tissue, articular cartilage regeneration has not been very successful and has many challenges ahead
We introduce the sophisticated cartilage tissue engineering system supplemented with transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) bioconjugation and Col II impregnation into the methacrylated chitosan (MeGC) hydrogels to promote chondrogenic differentiation of encapsulated mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from human synovium
Release of conjugated TGF-β1 from Methacrylated glycol chitosan (MeGC) hydrogels was measured in a culture medium containing serum
Summary
Articular cartilage regeneration has not been very successful and has many challenges ahead. We have previously developed injectable hydrogels using photopolymerizable chitosan (MeGC) that supported growth of chondrocytes. More than 70 million adults in the United States suffer from articular cartilage injuries caused mainly by arthritis. Autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) is clinically available for articular cartilage injuries, successful regeneration of damaged articular cartilage remains a great challenge due to the limitations (e.g. multiple surgical procedures, in vitro cell expansion) associated with ACI [2,3,4,5]. The delivery system bio-degraded to match growth rates of cartilage regeneration and removed harsh chemicals while maintaining chondrocyte morphology and phenotype, which will be crucial for cartilage regeneration during chondrogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) [12]. Systematic tissue engineering approaches is still required for successful cartilage repair
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