title: Development of mature cartilage constructs using novel three-dimensional porous scaffolds for enhanced repair of osteochondral defects.
abstract: In this study, we successfully developed two types of volume-reduced three-dimensional scaffolds, including cushion- and cylinder-shape scaffolds, fabricated from chitosan-based hyaluronic acid hybrid polymer fibers. Using these scaffolds combined with a bioreactor system, we regenerated histologically and mechanically mature cartilage constructs. The final goal of this study was to clarify the ability of this engineered cartilage construct to induce cartilage repair in osteochondral defects. The mature cartilage constructs regenerated with two types of scaffolds were implanted into 5-mm diameter osteochondral defects in the patellar groove of rabbits. At 12 weeks after implantation, the reparative tissues consisted of hyaline-like cartilage with evidence of stable fusion to adjacent native cartilage and normal reconstitution of subchondral bone. The histological score of these tissues significantly outranked the value of untreated tissue. Biomechanically, compression modulus of reparative tissue at 12 weeks postoperatively was comparative to that of normal articular cartilage. Our results indicate that the implantation of constructs with mature cartilage have potential as a better approach for joint resurfacing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuhiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kasahara
authors.forename: Norimasa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Iwasaki
authors.forename: Shintaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamane
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Igarashi
authors.forename: Tokifumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Majima
authors.forename: Sachiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nonaka
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Harada
authors.forename: Shin-Ichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nishimura
authors.forename: Akio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Minami
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D018786:Bone Substitutes; D002356:Cartilage / Q000473:pathology*; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D023421:Models, Animal; D011817:Rabbits; D012038:Regeneration; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D014945:Wound Healing
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D018786:Bone Substitutes; D004247:DNA