title: Microfluidic Encapsulation of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Articular Cartilage Tissue Regeneration.
abstract: Stem cell injections for the treatment of articular cartilage damage are a promising approach to achieve tissue regeneration. However, this method is encumbered by high cell apoptosis rates, low retention in the cartilage lesion, and inefficient chondrogenesis. Here, we have used a facile, very low cost-based microfluidic technique to create visible light-cured microgels composed of gelatin norbornene (GelNB) and a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) cross-linker. In addition, we have demonstrated that the process enables the rapid in situ microencapsulation of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) under biocompatible microfluidic-processing conditions for long-term maintenance. The hBMSCs exhibited an unusually high degree of chondrogenesis in the GelNB microgels with chondro-inductive media, specifically toward the hyaline cartilage structure, with significant upregulation in type II collagen expression compared to the bulk hydrogel and "gold standard" pellet culture. Overall, we have demonstrated that these protein-based microgels can be engineered as promising therapeutic candidates for articular cartilage regeneration, with additional potential to be used in a variety of other applications in regenerative medicine.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Monash Institute of Medical Engineering, Monash University , Wellington Road, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.|CSIRO Manufacturing, Bayview Avenue, Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia.
authors.forename: Fanyi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Monash Institute of Medical Engineering, Monash University , Wellington Road, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.
authors.forename: Vinh X
authors.initials: VX
authors.lastname: Truong
authors.affiliation: CSIRO Manufacturing, Bayview Avenue, Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia.
authors.forename: Helmut
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3254-6855
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Thissen
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Monash Institute of Medical Engineering, Monash University , Wellington Road, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.
authors.forename: Jessica E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Frith
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Monash Institute of Medical Engineering, Monash University , Wellington Road, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.
authors.forename: John S
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2849-229X
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Forsythe
mesh_terms: D002358:Cartilage, Articular; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D020219:Chondrogenesis; D006801:Humans; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells; D044085:Microfluidics; D012038:Regeneration; D023822:Tissue Engineering
keywords: cartilage tissue engineering; gelatin hydrogel; microfluidics; microgels; stem cells