title: Effects of chitosan-coated fibers as a scaffold for three-dimensional cultures of rabbit fibroblasts for ligament tissue engineering.
abstract: Material selection in tissue-engineering scaffolds is one of the primary factors defining cellular response and matrix formation. In this study, we fabricated chitosan-coated poly(lactic acid) (PLA) fiber scaffolds to test our hypothesis that PLA fibers coated with chitosan highly promoted cell supporting properties compared to those without chitosan. Both PLA fibers (PLA group) and chitosan-coated PLA fibers (PLA-chitosan group) were fabricated for this study. Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) fibroblasts were isolated from Japanese white rabbits and cultured on scaffolds consisting of each type of fiber. The effects of cell adhesivity, proliferation, and synthesis of the extracellular matrix (ECM) for each fiber were analyzed by cell counting, hydroxyproline assay, scanning electron microscopy and quantitative RT-PCR. Cell adhesivity, proliferation, hydroxyproline content and the expression of type-I collagen mRNA were significantly higher in the PLA-chitosan group than in the PLA group. Scanning electron microscopic observation showed that fibroblasts proliferated with a high level of ECM synthesis around the cells. Chitosan coating improved ACL fibroblast adhesion and proliferation, and had a positive effect on matrix production. Thus, the advantages of chitosan-coated PLA fibers show them to be a suitable biomaterial for ACL tissue-engineering scaffolds.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 1-20-1 Handayama, Higashi-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan. j-saru@xj8.so-net.ne.jp
authors.forename: Junichiro
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sarukawa
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Seiichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tokura
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Furuike
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tamura
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry*; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D008022:Ligaments / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000166:cytology* / Q000293:injuries; D008422:Materials Testing; D011817:Rabbits; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D048271:Chitosan