title: Development of hybrid scaffolds using ceramic and hydrogel for articular cartilage tissue regeneration.
abstract: The regeneration of articular cartilage consisting of hyaline cartilage and hydrogel scaffolds has been generally used in tissue engineering. However, success in in vivo studies has been rarely reported. The hydrogel scaffolds implanted into articular cartilage defects are mechanically unstable and it is difficult for them to integrate with the surrounding native cartilage tissue. Therefore, it is needed to regenerate cartilage and bone tissue simultaneously. We developed hybrid scaffolds with hydrogel scaffolds for cartilage tissue and with ceramic scaffolds for bone tissue. For in vivo study, hybrid scaffolds were press-fitted into osteochondral tissue defects in a rabbit knee joints and the cartilage tissue regeneration in blank, hydrogel scaffolds, and hybrid scaffolds was compared. In 12th week after implantation, the histological and immunohistochemical analyses were conducted to evaluate the cartilage tissue regeneration. In the blank and hydrogel scaffold groups, the defects were filled with fibrous tissues and the implanted hydrogel scaffolds could not maintain their initial position; in the hybrid scaffold group, newly generated cartilage tissues were morphologically similar to native cartilage tissues and were smoothly connected to the surrounding native tissues. This study demonstrates hybrid scaffolds containing hydrogel and ceramic scaffolds can provide mechanical stability to hydrogel scaffolds and enhance cartilage tissue regeneration at the defect site.
authors.affiliation: Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 27157.
authors.forename: Young-Joon
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Seol
authors.forename: Ju Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Wonju
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.forename: Tae-Ho
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Shin-Yoon
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Dong-Woo
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Cho
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002516:Ceramics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011817:Rabbits; D012038:Regeneration / Q000187:drug effects*; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate
keywords: articular cartilage tissue; ceramic scaffold; hybrid scaffold; mechanical stability