Efficacy of hESC-MSCs in knitted silk-collagen scaffold for tendon tissue engineering and their roles.
Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) and their differentiated progenies are an attractive cell source for transplantation therapy and tissue engineering. Nevertheless, the utility of these cells for tendon tissue engineering has not yet been adequately explored. This study incorporated hESC-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hESC-MSCs) within a knitted silk-collagen sponge scaffold, and assessed the efficacy of this tissue-engineered construct in promoting tendon regeneration. When subjected to mechanical stimulation in vitro, hESC-MSCs exhibited tenocyte-like morphology and positively expressed tendon-related gene markers (e.g. Collagen type I & III, Epha4 and Scleraxis), as well as other mechano-sensory structures and molecules (cilia, integrins and myosin). In ectopic transplantation, the tissue-engineered tendon under in vivo mechanical stimulus displayed more regularly aligned cells and larger collagen fibers. This in turn resulted in enhanced tendon regeneration in situ, as evidenced by better histological scores and superior mechanical performance characteristics. Furthermore, cell labeling and extracellular matrix expression assays demonstrated that the transplanted hESC-MSCs not only contributed directly to tendon regeneration, but also exerted an environment-modifying effect on the implantation site in situ. Hence, tissue-engineered tendon can be successfully fabricated through seeding of hESC-MSCs within a knitted silk-collagen sponge scaffold followed by mechanical stimulation.
Chen
Jia Lin
JL
Center for Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Yin
Zi
Z
Shen
Wei Liang
WL
Chen
Xiao
X
Heng
Boon Chin
BC
Zou
Xiao Hui
XH
Ouyang
Hong Wei
HW
D000125:Achilles Tendon / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena / Q000187:drug effects; D048430:Cell Shape / Q000187:drug effects; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D005453:Fluorescence; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D051379:Mice; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D019919:Prosthesis Implantation; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D047011:Silk / Q000494:pharmacology*; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000187:drug effects
D012333:RNA, Messenger; D047011:Silk; D003094:Collagen