Evaluation of cartilage repair by mesenchymal stem cells seeded on a PEOT/PBT scaffold in an osteochondral defect

Barron, V,Merghani, K,Shaw, G,Coleman, CM,Hayes, JS,Ansboro, S,Manian, A,O'Malley, G,Connolly, E,Nandakumar, A,van Blitterswijk, CA,Habibovic, P,Moroni, L,Shannon, F,Murphy, JM,Barry, F (2015) 'Evaluation of Cartilage Repair by Mesenchymal Stem Cells Seeded on a PEOT/PBT Scaffold in an Osteochondral Defect'. Annals Of Biomedical Engineering, 43 :2069-2082.

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-seeded polyethylene-oxide-terephthalate/polybutylene-terephthalate (PEOT/PBT) scaffold for cartilage tissue repair in an osteochondral defect using a rabbit model. Material characterisation using scanning electron microscopy indicated that the scaffold had a 3D architecture characteristic of the additive manufacturing fabrication method, with a strut diameter of 296 +/- A 52 mu m and a pore size of 512 +/- A 22 mu m x 476 +/- A 25 mu m x 180 +/- A 30 mu m. In vitro optimisation revealed that the scaffold did not generate an adverse cell response, optimal cell loading conditions were achieved using 50 mu g/ml fibronectin and a cell seeding density of 25 x 10(6) cells/ml and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) accumulation after 28 days culture in the presence of TGF beta 3 indicated positive chondrogenesis. Cell-seeded scaffolds were implanted in osteochondral defects for 12 weeks, with cell-free scaffolds and empty defects employed as controls. On examination of toluidine blue staining for chondrogenesis and GAG accumulation, both the empty defect and the cell-seeded scaffold appeared to promote repair. However, the empty defect and the cell-free scaffold stained positive for collagen type I or fibrocartilage, while the cell-seeded scaffold stained positive for collagen type II indicative of hyaline cartilage and was statistically better than the cell-free scaffold in the blinded histological evaluation. In summary, MSCs in combination with a 3D PEOT/PBT scaffold created a reparative environment for cartilage repair.

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Springer Verlag

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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Ireland

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Regenerative Medicine Institute (Scholarly Articles)