Effect of double growth factor release on cartilage tissue engineering

The effects of double release of insulin‐like growth factor I (IGF‐I) and growth factor β1 (TGF–β1) from nanoparticles on the growth of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells and their differentiation into cartilage cells were studied on PLGA scaffolds. The release was achieved by using nanoparticles of poly(lactic acid‐co‐glycolic acid) (PLGA) and poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) carrying IGF‐I and TGF–β1, respectively. On tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS), TGF‐β1 released from PNIPAM nanoparticles was found to have a significant effect on proliferation, while IGF‐I encouraged differentiation, as shown by collagen type II deposition. The study was then conducted on macroporous (pore size 200–400 µm) PLGA scaffolds. It was observed that the combination of IGF‐I and TGF‐β1 yielded better results in terms of collagen type II and aggrecan expression than GF‐free and single GF‐containing applications. It thus appears that gradual release of a combination of growth factors from nanoparticles could make a significant contribution to the quality of the engineered cartilage tissue. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

聚磷酸钙/左旋聚乳酸软骨组织工程支架复合材料的分析

背景用左旋聚乳酸(PLLA),聚羟基乙酸(PGA)等可降解吸收性高分子材料加工而成的纤维状支架材料和海绵状支架材料在软骨组织工程中已获得广泛应用.但这类支架材料存在着弹性模量低,受力时易变形,容易导致种子细胞损伤和降解吸收时间过长等缺陷.目的研制出可任意调控降解速率且具有良好力学性能、生物相溶性能和毒理学性能的聚磷酸钙(Calcium Polyphosphate,CPP)纤维,并用该纤维为增强材料研制软骨组织工程复合材料.设计以不同质量比例分组对照的实验研究.地点和对象实验在兰州交通大学材料工程研究所完成,基体材料选用PLLA(中科院化学所高分子合成室提供),增强材料选用自制CPP纤维.干预以高强度、高模量可设计降解速率的CPP纤维为增强材料,PLLA为基体材料,应用溶媒投放、颗粒滤取技术制备出CPP/PLLA软骨组织工程支架复合材料,测试了该支架复合材料的物理力学性能和体外37℃下Hank's人工降解液中的生物降解特性.主要观察指标物理力学性能,降解性能.结果CPP/PLLA支架复合材料具有三维连通、微孔、网状微观结构,微孔分布均匀,微孔尺寸为130～350μm,孔隙率90%;压缩模量随CPP纤维体积分数的增加而增加;降解速率随CPP纤维体积分数的增大而增大.结论CPP/PLLA支架复合材料的物理力学性能和体外降解性能在体外构建的组织化软骨的早期生物学性能基本满足软骨组织工程的要求,故可用作软骨组织工程支架材料.     

骨髓间充质干细胞与脱细胞脑组织支架的生物相容性

背景：骨髓间充质干细胞与细胞载体联合移植治疗中枢神经系统损伤还处于实验研究阶段。目的：评价大鼠骨髓间充质干细胞与脱细胞脑组织支架的生物相容性,探讨脱细胞脑组织支架作为中枢神经系统组织工程材料的可行性。方法：以全骨髓法分离纯化大鼠骨髓间充质干细胞,通过物理及化学方法相结合制各脱细胞脑组织支架。将转染携带绿色荧光蛋白基因的骨髓间充质干细胞种植到支架材料上共培养,通过倒置相差显微镜、扫描电镜、激光共聚焦显微镜等方法观察脱细胞脑组织支架的内部结构及复合支架上细胞的生长状况。结果与结论：制备的脱细胞脑组织支架材料呈三维立体网状结构。骨髓间充质干细胞可在支架上黏附生长,形态良好。大鼠骨髓间充质干细胞与脱细胞脑组织支架具有良好的生物相容性,有望作为中枢神经系统组织工程的载体材料。     

A new composite hydrogel combining the biological properties of collagen with the mechanical properties of a supramolecular scaffold for bone tissue engineering

Tissue engineering is a promising alternative to autografts, allografts, or biomaterials to address the treatment of severe and large bone lesions. Classically, tissue engineering products associate a scaffold and cells and are implanted or injected into the lesion. These cells must be embedded in an appropriate biocompatible scaffold, which offers a favourable environment for their survival and differentiation. Here, we designed a composite hydrogel composed of collagen I, an extracellular matrix protein widely used in several therapeutic applications, which we associated with a physical hydrogel generated from a synthetic small amphiphilic molecule. This composite showed improved mechanical and biological characteristics as compared with gels obtained from each separate compound. Incorporation of the physical hydrogel prevented shrinkage of collagen and cell diffusion out of the gel and yielded a gel with a higher elastic modulus than those of gels obtained with each component alone. The composite hydrogel allowed cell adhesion and proliferation in vitro and long‐term cell survival in vivo. Moreover, it promoted the differentiation of human adipose‐derived stem cells in the absence of any osteogenic factors. In vivo, cells embedded in the composite gel and injected subcutaneously in immunodeficient mice produced lamellar osteoid tissue and differentiated into osteoblasts. This study points this new composite hydrogel as a promising scaffold for bone tissue engineering applications.     

Differentiation of adipose stem cells seeded towards annulus fibrosus cells on a designed poly(trimethylene carbonate) scaffold prepared by stereolithography

Cell‐based therapies could potentially restore the biomechanical function and enhance the self‐repair capacity of annulus fibrosus (AF) tissue. However, choosing a suitable cell source and scaffold design are still key challenges. In this study, we assessed the in vitro ability of human adipose stem cells (hASCs), an easily available cell source to produce AF‐like matrix in novel AF‐mimetic designed scaffolds based on poly(trimethylene carbonate) and built by stereolithography. To facilitate efficient differentiation of hASCs towards AF tissue, we tested different culture medium compositions and cell seeding techniques. This is the first study to report that medium supplementation with transforming growth factor (TGF)‐β3 is essential to support AF differentiation of hASCs while TGF‐β1 has negligible effect after 21 days of culture. Fibrin gel seeding resulted in superior cell distribution, proliferation and AF‐like matrix production of hASCs compared to direct and micromass seeding under TGF‐β3 stimulation. Not only the production of sulphated glycosaminoglycans (sGAG) and collagen was significantly upregulated, but the formed collagen was also oriented and aligned into bundles within the designed pore channels. The differentiated hASCs seeded with fibrin gel were also found to have a comparable sGAG:collagen ratio and gene expression profile as native AF cells demonstrating the high potential of this strategy in AF repair. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An innovative stand‐alone bioreactor for the highly reproducible transfer of cyclic mechanical stretch to stem cells cultured in a 3D scaffold

Much evidence in the literature demonstrates the effect of cyclic mechanical stretch in maintaining, or addressing, a muscle phenotype. Such results were obtained using several technical approaches, useful for the experimental collection of proofs of principle but probably unsuitable for application in clinical regenerative medicine. Here we aimed to design a reliable innovative bioreactor, acting as a stand‐alone cell culture incubator, easy to operate and effective in addressing mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) seeded onto a 3D bioreabsorbable scaffold, towards a muscle phenotype via the transfer of a controlled and highly‐reproducible cyclic deformation. Electron microscopy, immunohistochemistry and biochemical analysis of the obtained pseudotissue constructs showed that cells ‘trained’ over 1 week: (a) displayed multilayer organization and invaded the 3D mesh of the scaffold; and (b) expressed typical markers of muscle cells. This effect was due only to physical stimulation of the cells, without the need of any other chemical or genetic manipulation. This device is thus proposed as a prototypal instrument to obtain pseudotissue constructs to test in cardiovascular regenerative medicine, using good manufacturing procedures. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

新型脊髓纳米组织工程支架的组织相容性***☆

背景:纳米技术可改善脊髓组织工程生物材料的性能.目的:分析新型脊髓纳米组织工程支架的组织相容性.方法:以胶原为原料制备纤维定向排列及非定向排列的纳米纤维膜,培养及鉴定S D大鼠脊髓源性神经干细胞.将两种纳米纤维膜与SD乳鼠脊髓源性神经干细胞共培养,以正常培养的神经干细胞为对照,通过 MTT 实验检测纳米纤维膜的细胞相容性;以扫描电镜检测细胞在纳米纤维膜表面的黏附及增殖情况;将纳米纤维膜植入S D大鼠体内,通过组织学检查确定其降解情况及组织相容性;通过免疫组织化学实验确定神经干细胞在体内的存活及移动情况.结果与结论:两种纳米纤维膜表面的神经干细胞黏附及增殖情况良好,MT T实验结果表明纳米纤维膜的细胞相容性佳,电镜结果表明细胞在纳米纤维膜表面黏附良好,增殖情况佳;在体内纳米纤维膜降解情况良好,组织相容性佳;BrdU 标定的神经干细胞在 SD 大鼠体内存活并移动情况良好.结果表明新型纳米组织工程支架具有良好的细胞及组织相容性.     

Collagen density gradient on three‐dimensional printed poly(ε‐caprolactone) scaffolds for interface tissue engineering

The ability to engineer scaffolds that resemble the transition between tissues would be beneficial to improve repair of complex organs, but has yet to be achieved. In order to mimic tissue organization, such constructs should present continuous gradients of geometry, stiffness and biochemical composition. Although the introduction of rapid prototyping or additive manufacturing techniques allows deposition of heterogeneous layers and shape control, the creation of surface chemical gradients has not been explored on three‐dimensional (3D) scaffolds obtained through fused deposition modelling technique. Thus, the goal of this study was to introduce a gradient functionalization method in which a poly(ε‐caprolactone) surface was first aminolysed and subsequently covered with collagen via carbodiimide reaction. The 2D constructs were characterized for their amine and collagen contents, wettability, surface topography and biofunctionality. Finally, chemical gradients were created in 3D printed scaffolds with controlled geometry and porosity. The combination of additive manufacturing and surface modification is a viable tool for the fabrication of 3D constructs with controlled structural and chemical gradients. These constructs can be employed for mimicking continuous tissue gradients for interface tissue engineering.     

The use of a novel bone allograft wash process to generate a biocompatible,mechanically stable and osteoinductive biological scaffold for use in bone tissue engineering

Fresh‐frozen biological allograft remains the most effective substitute for the ‘gold standard’ autograft, sharing many of its osteogenic properties but, conversely, lacking viable osteogenic cells. Tissue engineering offers the opportunity to improve the osseointegration of this material through the addition of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). However, the presence of dead, immunogenic and potentially harmful bone marrow could hinder cell adhesion and differentiation, graft augmentation and incorporation, and wash procedures are therefore being utilized to remove the marrow, thereby improving the material's safety. To this end, we assessed the efficiency of a novel wash technique to produce a biocompatible, biological scaffold void of cellular material that was mechanically stable and had osteoinductive potential. The outcomes of our investigations demonstrated the efficient removal of marrow components (~99.6%), resulting in a biocompatible material with conserved biomechanical stability. Additionally, the scaffold was able to induce osteogenic differentiation of MSCs, with increases in osteogenic gene expression observed following extended culture. This study demonstrates the efficiency of the novel wash process and the potential of the resultant biological material to serve as a scaffold in bone allograft tissue engineering. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

A mixed co‐culture of mesenchymal stem cells and transgenic chondrocytes in alginate hydrogel for cartilage tissue engineering

To regenerate articular cartilage tissue from degeneration and trauma, synovial mesenchymal stem cells (SMSCs) were used in this study as therapeutic progenitor cells to induce therapeutic chondrogenesis. To accomplish this, chondrocytes pre‐transduced with adenoviral vectors carrying the transforming growth factor (TGF) β3 gene were selected as transgenic companion cells and co‐cultured side‐by‐side with SMSCs in a 3D environment to provide chondrogenic growth factors in situ. We adopted a mixed co‐culture strategy for this purpose. Transgenic delivery of TGF‐β3 in chondrocytes was performed via recombinant adenoviral vectors. The mixed co‐culture of SMSCs and transgenic chondrocytes was produced in alginate gel constructs. Gene expression in both SMSCs and chondrocytes were characterized. Biochemical assays in vitro and in vivo showed that release of TGF‐ß3 from transgenic chondrocytes not only induced SMSC differentiation into chondrocytic cells but also preserved the chondrocytic phenotype of chondrocytes from suspected dedifferentiation. As a result, this mixed co‐culture strategy in conjunction with TGF‐ß3 gene delivery could be a promising approach in cartilage tissue engineering. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Functionalization of porous BCP scaffold by generating cell‐derived extracellular matrix from rat bone marrow stem cells culture for bone tissue engineering

The potential of decellularized cell‐derived extracellular matrix (ECM) deposited on biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) scaffold for bone tissue engineering was investigated. Rat derived bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells were cultured on porous BCP scaffolds for 3 weeks and decellularized with two different methods (freeze–thaw [F/T] or sodium dodecyl sulfate [SDS]). The decellularized ECM deposited scaffolds (dECM‐BCP) were characterized through scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X‐ray spectrometer, and confocal microscopy. The efficiency of decellularization was evaluated by quantifying remaining DNA, sulfated glycosaminoglycans, and collagens. Results revealed that F/T method was more effective procedure for removing cellular components of cultured cells (95.21% DNA reduction) than SDS treatment (92.49%). Although significant loss of collagen was observed after decellularization with both F/T (56.68%) and SDS (70.87%) methods, F/T treated sample showed higher retaining amount of sulfated glycosaminoglycans content (75.64%) than SDS (33.28%). In addition, we investigated the cell biocompatibility and osteogenic effect of dECM‐BCP scaffolds using preosteoblasts (MC3T3‐E1). Compared to bare BCP scaffolds, dECM‐BCP_F/T scaffolds showed improved cell attachment and proliferation based on immunofluorescence staining and water soluble tetrazolium salts assay (p < .001). Moreover, dECM‐BCP scaffolds showed increased osteoblastic differentiation of newly seeded preosteoblasts by up‐regulating three types of osteoblastic genes (osteopontin, alkaline phosphatase, and bone morphogenic protein‐2). This study demonstrated that functionalization of BCP scaffold using cell‐derived ECM could be useful for improving the bioactivity of materials and providing suitable microenvironment, especially for osteogenesis. Further study is needed to determine the potential of dECM‐BCP scaffold for bone formation and regeneration in vivo.     

The use of fibrin based matrices and fibrin microbeads (FMB) for cell based tissue regeneration

Background: Due to its good cell attachment capabilities and promotion of cell migration, fibrin serves as an interim cell-binding matrix in wounded tissues. Due to their fast degradation, unprocessed fibrin matrices have limited use in tissue engineering. Objective: To describe stable fibrin-based matrices for isolation, growth and delivery of stem cells for implantation to enhance tissue regeneration. Methods: Fibrin microbeads (FMB) were produced by moderate-heat condensation of fibrin particles in oil without compromising the cell binding capability of the fibrin. Results: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) were separated from different sources at much higher yields with FMB. They were further expanded on them in suspension without trypsinization and passages. Cells on FMB could be induced to differentiate into different phenotypes, such as bone and cartilage. This enabled implantation of the cells on FMB for cell-based tissue regeneration. Conclusions: FMB technology provides a simple and effective method for cell separation, expansion in suspension and delivery for tissue regeneration.     

Characterization of novel akermanite:poly‐ϵ‐caprolactone scaffolds for human adipose‐derived stem cells bone tissue engineering

In this study, three different akermanite:poly‐?‐caprolactone (PCL) composite scaffolds (wt%: 75:25, 50:50, 25:75) were characterized in terms of structure, compression strength, degradation rate and in vitro biocompatibility to human adipose‐derived stem cells (hASC). Pure ceramic scaffolds [CellCeram^TM, custom‐made, 40:60 wt%; β‐tricalcium phosphate (β‐TCP):hydroxyapatite (HA); and akermanite] and PCL scaffolds served as experimental controls. Compared to ceramic scaffolds, the authors hypothesized that optimal akermanite:PCL composites would have improved compression strength and comparable biocompatibility to hASC. Electron microscopy analysis revealed that PCL‐containing scaffolds had the highest porosity but CellCeram^TM had the greatest pore size. In general, compression strength in PCL‐containing scaffolds was greater than in ceramic scaffolds. PCL‐containing scaffolds were also more stable in culture than ceramic scaffolds. Nonetheless, mass losses after 21 days were observed in all scaffold types. Reduced hASC metabolic activity and increased cell detachment were observed after acute exposure to akermanite:PCL extracts (wt%: 75:25, 50:50). Among the PCL‐containing scaffolds, hASC cultured for 21 days on akermanite:PCL (wt%: 75:25) discs displayed the highest viability, increased expression of osteogenic markers (alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin) and lowest IL‐6 expression. Together, the results indicate that akermanite:PCL composites may have appropriate mechanical and biocompatibility properties for use as bone tissue scaffolds. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Generation of interferon alpha-producing predendritic cell (Pre-DC)2 from human CD34(+) hematopoietic stem cells

Upon viral stimulation, the natural interferon (IFN)-alpha/beta-producing cells (IPCs; also known as pre-dendritic cells (DCs 2) in human blood and peripheral lymphoid tissues rapidly produce huge amounts of IFN-alpha/beta. After performing this innate antiviral immune response, IPCs can differentiate into DCs and strongly stimulate T cell-mediated adaptive immune responses. Using four-color immunofluorescence flow cytometry, we have mapped the developmental pathway of pre-DC2/IPCs from CD34(+) hematopoietic stem cells in human fetal liver, bone marrow, and cord blood. At least four developmental stages were identified, including CD34(++)CD45RA(-) early progenitor cells, CD34(++)CD45RA(+) late progenitor cells, CD34(+)CD45RA(++)CD4(+)interleukin (IL)-3Ralpha(++) pro-DC2, and CD34(-)CD45RA(++) CD4(+)IL-3Ralpha(++) pre-DC2/IPCs. Pro-DC2s have already acquired the capacity to produce large amounts of IFN-alpha/beta upon viral stimulation and to differentiate into DCs in culture with IL-3 and CD40 ligand. CD34(++)CD45RA(-) early progenitor cells did not have the capacity to produce large amounts of IFN-alpha/beta in response to viral stimulation; however, they can be induced to undergo proliferation and differentiation into IPCs/pre-DC2 in culture with FLT3 ligand.