title: In vitro generation of osteochondral composites.
abstract: Osteochondral repair involves the regeneration of articular cartilage and underlying bone, and the development of a well-defined tissue-to-tissue interface. We investigated tissue engineering of three-dimensional cartilage/bone composites based on biodegradable polymer scaffolds, chondrogenic and osteogenic cells. Cartilage constructs were created by cultivating primary bovine calf articular chondrocytes on polyglycolic acid meshes; bone-like constructs were created by cultivating expanded bovine calf periosteal cells on foams made of a blend of poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid and polyethylene glycol. Pairs of constructs were sutured together after 1 or 4 weeks of isolated culture, and the resulting composites were cultured for an additional 4 weeks. All composites were structurally stable and consisted of well-defined cartilaginous and bone-like tissues. The fraction of glycosaminoglycan in the cartilaginous regions increased with time, both in isolated and composite cultures. In contrast, the mineralization in bone-like regions increased during isolated culture, but remained approximately constant during the subsequent composite culture. The integration at the cartilage/bone interface was generally better for composites consisting of immature (1-week) than mature (4-week) constructs. This study demonstrates that osteochondral tissue composites for potential use in osteochondral repair can be engineered in vitro by culturing mammalian chondrocytes and periosteal cells on appropriate polymer scaffolds.
authors.affiliation: Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schaefer
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Shastri
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Padera
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Langer
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Freed
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vunjak-Novakovic
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D001842:Bone and Bones; D002113:Calcification, Physiologic; D002358:Cartilage, Articular; D002417:Cattle; D003188:Composite Resins; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D003188:Composite Resins