title: The influence of scaffold microstructure on chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells.
abstract: Different forms of biomaterials, including microspheres, sponges, hydrogels and nanofibres have been broadly used in cartilage regeneration; however, effects of internal structures of biomaterials on chondrogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) remain largely unexplored. Here we investigated the effect of physical microenvironments of sponges and hydrogels on chondrogenic differentiation of MSCs. MSCs, cultured in these two scaffold systems, were induced with TGF-β3 in chondrogeneic differentiation medium and the chondrogenic differentiation was evaluated and compared after three weeks. MSCs in the sponges clustered with spindle morphologies, while they distributed homogenously with round morphologies in the hydrogel. The MSCs proliferated faster in the sponge compared to that in the hydrogel. Significantly higher glycosaminoglycan and collagen II were found in the sponges but not in the hydrogels. The different tissue formation ability of MSCs in these two systems could be attributed to the different metabolic requirements and the cellular events prerequisite in the chondrogenic process of MSCs. It is reasonable to conclude that sponges with relatively active microenvironments that facilitate cell-cell contacts and cell-matrix interaction are optimal for early stage of chondrogeneic differentiation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jingjing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yingnan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Tanushree
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Thote
authors.forename: Eng Hin
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Zigang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000138:chemical synthesis; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry*; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D020219:Chondrogenesis / Q000502:physiology*; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry*; D008422:Materials Testing; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D013499:Surface Properties; D013552:Swine; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000295:instrumentation*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D020100:Hydrogels; D048271:Chitosan