title: Role of scaffold mean pore size in meniscus regeneration.
abstract: Recently, meniscus tissue engineering offers a promising management for meniscus regeneration. Although rarely reported, the microarchitectures of scaffolds can deeply influence the behaviors of endogenous or exogenous stem/progenitor cells and subsequent tissue formation in meniscus tissue engineering. Herein, a series of three-dimensional (3D) poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) scaffolds with three distinct mean pore sizes (i.e., 215, 320, and 515μm) were fabricated via fused deposition modeling. The scaffold with the mean pore size of 215μm significantly improved both the proliferation and extracellular matrix (ECM) production/deposition of mesenchymal stem cells compared to all other groups in vitro. Moreover, scaffolds with mean pore size of 215μm exhibited the greatest tensile and compressive moduli in all the acellular and cellular studies. In addition, the relatively better results of fibrocartilaginous tissue formation and chondroprotection were observed in the 215μm scaffold group after substituting the rabbit medial meniscectomy for 12weeks. Overall, the mean pore size of 3D-printed PCL scaffold could affect cell behavior, ECM production, biomechanics, and repair effect significantly. The PCL scaffold with mean pore size of 215μm presented superior results both in vitro and in vivo, which could be an alternative for meniscus tissue engineering.
  
  
  
  Meniscus tissue engineering provides a promising strategy for meniscus regeneration. In this regard, the microarchitectures (e.g., mean pore size) of scaffolds remarkably impact the behaviors of cells and subsequent tissue formation, which has been rarely reported. Herein, three three-dimensional poly(ε-caprolactone) scaffolds with different mean pore sizes (i.e., 215, 320, and 515μm) were fabricated via fused deposition modeling. The results suggested that the mean pore size significantly affected the behaviors of endogenous or exogenous stem/progenitor cells and subsequent tissue formation. This study furthers our understanding of the cell-scaffold interaction in meniscus tissue engineering, which provides unique insight into the design of meniscus scaffolds for future clinical application.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sports Medicine, Beijing Key Laboratory of Sports Injuries, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, PR China.
authors.forename: Zheng-Zheng
authors.initials: ZZ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sports Medicine, Beijing Key Laboratory of Sports Injuries, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, PR China.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Polymer Ecomaterials, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, PR China. Electronic address: jxding@ciac.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Jian-Xun
authors.initials: JX
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sports Medicine, Beijing Key Laboratory of Sports Injuries, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, PR China.
authors.forename: Shao-Jie
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory of Biofabrication and Rapid Prototyping Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, PR China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sports Medicine, Beijing Key Laboratory of Sports Injuries, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, PR China.
authors.forename: Ji-Ying
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sports Medicine, Beijing Key Laboratory of Sports Injuries, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, PR China.
authors.forename: Yan-Song
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Polymer Ecomaterials, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, PR China.
authors.forename: Xue-Si
authors.initials: XS
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sports Medicine, Beijing Key Laboratory of Sports Injuries, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, PR China. Electronic address: yujiakuo@126.com.
authors.forename: Jia-Kuo
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000473:pathology; D024043:Collagen Type II / Q000378:metabolism; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D020007:Implants, Experimental; D000072600:Meniscus / Q000502:physiology*; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D016062:Porosity; D011817:Rabbits; D012038:Regeneration; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D024043:Collagen Type II
keywords: Meniscus tissue engineering; Microstructure; Polymer; Porous scaffold; Structure-property relationship