Anatomy

Pathology

Mesenchymal stem cell

Articular cartilage repair

Articular cartilage

Biology

Regenerative medicine

Biomedical engineering

Extracellular matrix

Regeneration (biology)

Chemistry

Materials science

Alternative medicine

Osteoarthritis

Stem cell

Hyaline cartilage

Cartilage

Tissue engineering

Chondrocyte

Scaffold

Cell biology

Chondrogenesis

Medicine

Journal of Nanobiotechnology

The regeneration and repair of articular cartilage remains a major challenge for clinicians and scientists due to the poor intrinsic healing of this tissue. Since cartilage injuries are often clinically irregular, tissue-engineered scaffolds that can be easily molded to fill cartilage defects of any shape that fit tightly into the host cartilage are needed.In this study, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) affinity peptide sequence PFSSTKT (PFS)-modified chondrocyte extracellular matrix (ECM) particles combined with GelMA hydrogel were constructed.In vitro experiments showed that the pore size and porosity of the solid-supported composite scaffolds were appropriate and that the scaffolds provided a three-dimensional microenvironment supporting cell adhesion, proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation. In vitro experiments also showed that GelMA/ECM-PFS could regulate the migration of rabbit BMSCs. Two weeks after implantation in vivo, the GelMA/ECM-PFS functional scaffold system promoted the recruitment of endogenous mesenchymal stem cells from the defect site. GelMA/ECM-PFS achieved successful hyaline cartilage repair in rabbits in vivo, while the control treatment mostly resulted in fibrous tissue repair.This combination of endogenous cell recruitment and chondrogenesis is an ideal strategy for repairing irregular cartilage defects.

Hydrogel composite scaffolds achieve recruitment and chondrogenesis in cartilage tissue engineering applications