Gellan gum is a polysaccharide manufactured by microbial fermentation of the Sphingomonas paucimobilis microorganism, being commonly used in the food and pharmaceutical industry. It can be dissolved in water, and when heated and mixed with mono or divalent cations, forms a gel upon lowering the temperature under mild conditions. In this work, gellan gum hydrogels were analyzed as cells supports in the context of cartilage regeneration. Gellan gum hydrogel discs were characterized in terms of mechanical and structural properties. Transmissionelectron microscopy revealed a quite homogeneous chain arrangement within the hydrogels matrix, and dynamic mechanical analysis allowed to characterize the hydrogels discs viscoelastic properties upon compression solicitation, being the compressive storage and loss modulus of approximately 40 kPa and 3 kPa, respectively, at a frequency of 1 Hz. Rheological measurements determined the sol-gel transition started to occur at approximately 36 degrees C, exhibiting a gelation time of approximately 11 s. Evaluation of the gellan gum hydrogels biological performance was performed using a standard MTS cytotoxicity test, which showed that the leachables released are not deleterious to the cells and hence were noncytotoxic. Gellan gum hydrogels were afterwards used to encapsulate human nasal chondrocytes (1 x 10(6) cells/mL) and culture them for total periods of 2 weeks. Cells viability was confirmed using confocal calcein AM staining. Histological observations revealed normal chondrocytes morphology and the obtained data supports the claim that this new biomaterial has the potential to serve as a cell support in the field of cartilage regeneration.

In this work, the ability of gellan gum hydrogels coupled with autologous cells to regenerate rabbit full-thickness articular cartilage defects was tested. Five study groups were defined: (a) gellan gum with encapsulated chondrogenic predifferentiated rabbit adipose stem cells (ASC þ GF); (b) gellan gum with encapsulated nonchondrogenic predifferentiated rabbit adipose stem cells (ASC); (c) gellan gum with encapsulated rabbit articular chondrocytes (AC) (standard control); (d) gellan gum alone (control); (e) empty defect (control). Fullthickness articular cartilage defects were created and the gellan gum constructs were injected and left for 8 weeks. The macroscopic aspect of the explants showed a progressive increase of similarity with the lateral native cartilage, stable integration at the defect site, more pronouncedly in the cell-loaded constructs. Tissue scoring showed that ASC þ GF exhibited the best results regarding tissue quality progression. Alcian blue retrieved similar results with a better outcome for the cell-loaded constructs. Regarding real-time PCR analyses, ASC þ GF had the best progression with an upregulation of collagen type II and aggrecan, and a downregulation of collagen type I. Gellan gum hydrogels combined with autologous cells constitute a promising approach for the treatment of articular cartilage defects, and adipose derived cells may constitute a valid alternative to currently used articular chondrocytes. ß

Gellan gum is a polysaccharide that we have previously proposed for applications in the cartilage tissue engineering field. In this work, gellan gum hydrogels were tested for their ability to be used as injectable systems using simple processing methods, able to deliver and maintain chondrocytes by in situ gelation, and support cell viability and production of extracellular matrix (ECM). Rheological measurements determined that the sol-gel transition occurred near the body temperature at 39 degrees C, upon temperature decrease, in approximately 20 s. Gellan gum discs shows a storage compression modulus of around 80 kPa at a frequency of 1 Hz by dynamic mechanical analysis. Human articular chondrocytes were encapsulated in the gels, cultured in vitro for total periods of 56 days, and analyzed for cell viability and ECM production. Calcein AM staining showed that cell kept viable after 14 days and the histological analysis and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction revealed that hyaline-like cartilage ECM was synthesized. Finally, the in vivo performance of the gellan gum hydrogels, in terms of induced inflammatory reaction and integration into the host tissue, was evaluated by subcutaneous implantation in Balb/c mice for 21 days. Histological analysis showed a residual fibrotic capsule at the end of the experiments. Dynamic mechanical analysis revealed that the gels were stable throughout the experiments while evidencing a tendency for decreasing mechanical properties, which was consistent with weight measurements. Altogether, the results demonstrate the adequacy of gellan gum hydrogels processed by simple methods for noninvasive injectable applications toward the formation of a functional cartilage tissue-engineered construct and originally report the preliminary response of a living organism to the subcutaneous implantation of the gellan gum hydrogels. These are the two novel features of this work.

Gellan gum is a polysaccharide that has been recently proposed by our group for cartilage tissue-engineering applications. It is commonly used in the food and pharmaceutical industry and has the ability to form stable gels without the use of harsh reagents. Gellan gum can function as a minimally invasive injectable system, gelling inside the body in situ under physiological conditions and efficiently adapting to the defect site. In this work, gellan gum hydrogels were combined with human articular chondrocytes (hACs) and were subcutaneously implanted in nude mice for 4 weeks. The implants were collected for histological (haematoxylin and eosin and Alcian blue staining), biochemical [dimethylmethylene blue (GAG) assay], molecular (real-time PCR analyses for collagen types I, II and X, aggrecan) and immunological analyses (immunolocalization of collagen types I and II). The results showed a homogeneous cell distribution and the typical round-shaped morphology of the chondrocytes within the matrix upon implantation. Proteoglycans synthesis was detected by Alcian blue staining and a statistically significant increase of proteoglycans content was measured with the GAG assay quantified from 1 to 4 weeks of implantation. Real-time PCR analyses showed a statistically significant upregulation of collagen type II and aggrecan levels in the same periods. The immunological assays suggest deposition of collagen type II along with some collagen type I. The overall data shows that gellan gum hydrogels adequately support the growth and ECM deposition of human articular chondrocytes when implanted subcutaneously in nude mice.

No abstract