PLGA–PTMC–Cultured Bone Mesenchymal Stem Cell Scaffold Enhances Cartilage Regeneration in Tissue‐Engineered Tracheal Transplantation

The treatment of long‐segment tracheal defect requires the transplantation of effective tracheal substitute, and the tissue‐engineered trachea (TET) has been proposed as an ideal tracheal substitute. The major cause of the failure of segmental tracheal defect reconstruction by TET is airway collapse caused by the chondromalacia of TET cartilage. The key to maintain the TET structure is the regeneration of chondrocytes in cartilage, which can secrete plenty of cartilage matrices. To address the problem of the chondromalacia of TET cartilage, this study proposed an improved strategy. We designed a new cell sheet scaffold using the poly(lactic‐co‐glycolic acid) (PLGA) and poly(trimethylene carbonate) (PTMC) to make a porous membrane for seeding cells, and used the PLGA–PTMC cell‐scaffold to pack the decellularized allogeneic trachea to construct a new type of TET. The TET was then implanted in the subcutaneous tissue for vascularization for 2 weeks. Orthotopic transplantation was then performed after implantation. The efficiency of the TET we designed was analyzed by histological examination and biomechanical analyses 4 weeks after surgery. Four weeks after surgery, both the number of chondrocytes and the amount of cartilage matrix were significantly higher than those contained in the traditional stem‐cell–based TET. Besides, the coefficient of stiffness of TET was significantly larger than the traditional TET. This study provided a promising approach for the long‐term functional reconstruction of long‐segment tracheal defect, and the TET we designed had potential application prospects in the field of TET reconstruction.