Open AccessCollagen Type I and II Blend Hydrogel with Autologous Mesenchymal Stem Cells as a Scaffold for Articular Cartilage Defect Repair
Author(s) -
Claire E. Kilmer,
Carly M. Battistoni,
Abigail Cox,
Gert J. Breur,
Alyssa Panitch,
Julie C. Liu
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
acs biomaterials science and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.082
H-Index - 50
ISSN - 2373-9878
DOI - 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.9b01939
Subject(s) - self healing hydrogels , chondrogenesis , mesenchymal stem cell , cartilage , type ii collagen , chondrocyte , alkaline phosphatase , glycosaminoglycan , chemistry , type i collagen , tissue engineering , biomedical engineering , microbiology and biotechnology , materials science , anatomy , pathology , medicine , biology , biochemistry , polymer chemistry , enzyme
Collagen type II is a promising material to repair cartilage defects since it is a major component of articular cartilage and plays a key role in chondrocyte function. This study investigated the chondrogenic differentiation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) embedded within a 3:1 collagen type I to II blend (Col I/II) hydrogel or an all collagen type I (Col I) hydrogel. Glycosaminoglycan (GAG) production in Col I/II hydrogels was statistically higher than that in Col I hydrogels or pellet culture, and these results suggested that adding collagen type II promoted GAG production. Col I/II hydrogels had statistically lower alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity than pellets cultured in a chondrogenic medium. The ability of MSCs encapsulated in Col I/II hydrogels to repair cartilage defects was investigated by creating two cartilage defects in the femurs of rabbits. After 13 weeks, histochemical staining suggested that Col I/II blend hydrogels provided favorable conditions for cartilage repair. Histological scoring revealed a statistically higher cartilage repair score for the Col I/II hydrogels compared to either the Col I hydrogels or empty defect controls. Results from this study suggest that there is clinical value in the cartilage repair capabilities of our Col I/II hydrogel with encapsulated MSCs.