Cadherin‐11 promotes the mechanical strength of engineered elastic cartilage by enhancing extracellular matrix synthesis and microstructure

Abstract

Limitations of current treatments for auricular cartilage defects have prompted the field of auricular cartilage tissue engineering. To date, inducing the formation of cartilaginous constructs with biochemical and biomechanical properties of native tissue is the final aim. Through hematoxylin-eosin and immunohistochemistry staining, Cadherin-11(CDH11) was confirmed highly expressed in the auricular cartilage tissue and chondrocytes. In vitro, by knockdown and overexpression of CDH11 in chondrocytes, CDH11 was demonstrated to promote the expression of collagen type II (COL2A), elastin (ELN), aggrecan (ACAN), and cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP). In addition, the CDH11 overexpressed chondrocytes promoted neo-cartilage formation and its biomechanical property by increasing the key transcription factor of chondrogenesis SOX9 expression and cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM) production. The young's modulus and yield stress of the neo-cartilage in CDH11 overexpression group were about 1.7 times (p = 0.0152) and 2 times (p = 0.0428) higher than those in control group, respectively. Then, the immunohistochemistry staining, qRT-PCR and western blot examination results showed that the expression of COL2A and ELN were significantly increased. Notably, the electron microscopy results showed that the collagen and elastic fibers of the neo-cartilage in CDH11-OV group arranged in bunches and were more uniform and compact compared to the control group. Furthermore, CDH11 promoted elastic fiber assembly by increasing lysyl oxidase (LOX), fibrillin-1 (FBN1) expression. Taken together, our results demonstrated that CDH11 improves the mechanical strength of tissueengineered elastic cartilage by promoting ECM synthesis and elastic fiber assembly.

Effect of Cadherin-11 on the Proliferation, Migration, and ECM Synthesis of Chondrocyte

“…Tese results suggested that CDH11 was involved in chondrogenesis and cartilage ECM synthesis. Tis is consistent with our previous fnding that CDH11 improved the mechanical strength of tissue-engineered elastic cartilage by promoting ECM synthesis and elastic fber assembly [27]. CDH11 has been reported to regulate collagen and elastin synthesis, afecting both the mechanical properties and contractile function of animal tissues such as the aorta, bladder, and skin [28].…”

Non-Mulberry Silk Fiber-Based Composite Scaffolds Containing Millichannels for Auricular Cartilage Regeneration

“…Similarly, upon normalization with the scaffold volume, the contents of collagen in AF, CAF, MAF, and CMAF were approximately 7.7-fold, 8.7-fold, 9.2-fold, and 10.1-fold, respectively, on day 28. These results suggested that scaffolds containing customized millichannels efficiently promoted the secretion of collagen by chondrocytes, which improved the mechanical properties during the formation of cartilage . CMAF possesses good assistance in the development of high-quality cartilage tissue with abundant collagen.…”

“…These results suggested that scaffolds containing customized millichannels efficiently promoted the secretion of collagen by chondrocytes, which improved the mechanical properties during the formation of cartilage. 45 CMAF possesses good assistance in the development of high-quality cartilage tissue with abundant collagen.…”

Investigating the Adipogenic Effects of Different Tissue-Derived Decellularized Matrices

“…The mechanical properties of the tissue before and after decellularization were measured by indentation testing. As previously described ( Omidi et al, 2014 ; Li et al, 2022 ), the specimens of adipose tissue, dermal tissue, DAM, and ADM were cut into disks with a 6-mm diameter ( n = 5) using a corneal trephine and tested using a 5967 Universal Testing Machine with a 100-N load cell (Instron, Norwood, MA). For unconfined compressive testing, the specimens were compressed at 10 mm/min via the indenters until 100N strain was reached.…”