title: Microsphere-based scaffolds encapsulating chondroitin sulfate or decellularized cartilage.
abstract: Extracellular matrix materials such as decellularized cartilage (DCC) and chondroitin sulfate (CS) may be attractive chondrogenic materials for cartilage regeneration. The goal of the current study was to investigate the effects of encapsulation of DCC and CS in homogeneous microsphere-based scaffolds, and to test the hypothesis that encapsulation of these extracellular matrix materials would induce chondrogenesis of rat bone marrow stromal cells. Four different types of homogeneous scaffolds were fabricated from microspheres of poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid): Blank (poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) only; negative control), transforming growth factor-β3 encapsulated (positive control), DCC encapsulated, and CS encapsulated. These scaffolds were then seeded with rat bone marrow stromal cells and cultured for 6 weeks. The DCC and CS encapsulation altered the morphological features of the microspheres, resulting in higher porosities in these groups. Moreover, the mechanical properties of the scaffolds were impacted due to differences in the degree of sintering, with the CS group exhibiting the highest compressive modulus. Biochemical evidence suggested a mitogenic effect of DCC and CS encapsulation on rat bone marrow stromal cells with the matrix synthesis boosted primarily by the inherently present extracellular matrix components. An important finding was that the cell seeded CS and DCC groups at week 6 had up to an order of magnitude higher glycosaminoglycan contents than their acellular counterparts. Gene expression results indicated a suppressive effect of DCC and CS encapsulation on rat bone marrow stromal cell chondrogenesis with differences in gene expression patterns existing between the DCC and CS groups. Overall, DCC and CS were easily included in microsphere-based scaffolds; however, there is a requirement to further refine their concentrations to achieve the differentiation profiles we seek in vitro.
authors.affiliation: Bioengineering Graduate Program, University of Kansas, USA.
authors.forename: Vineet
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Kansas, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Tenny
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, USA.
authors.forename: Marilyn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barragan
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Kansas, USA Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Kansas, USA.
authors.forename: Cory J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Berkland
authors.affiliation: Bioengineering Graduate Program, University of Kansas, USA Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Kansas, USA detamore@ku.edu.
authors.forename: Michael S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Detamore
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002356:Cartilage / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D002474:Cell-Free System; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D020219:Chondrogenesis / Q000502:physiology*; D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates / Q000737:chemistry*; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000737:chemistry*; D008297:Male; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D008863:Microspheres; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
chemical_list: D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates
keywords: Chondroitin sulfate; cartilage regeneration; decellularized cartilage; microsphere-based scaffolds