Dermatan sulphate in methoxy polyethylene glycol-polylactide-co-glycolic acid scaffolds upregulates fibronectin gene expression but has no effect on in vivo osteochondral repair

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of dermatan sulphate (DS) addition to biodegradable methoxy polyethylene glycol (MPEG) substituted polylactide-coglycolic acid (PLGA) scaffolds for cartilage repair in vitro and in vivo. Methods Human chondrocytes from eight patients undergoing anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction were isolated and cultured in 5% oxygen on MPEG-PLGA scaffolds ± DS for one, three, seven and 14 days. Analyses were performed using quantitative gene expression analysis for chondrogenic and cell attachment markers. An osteochondral drill hole defect was created in the intertrochlear groove of the distal femur in 20 New Zealand white rabbits (defects n0 20). When bleeding was observed, the defects were treated with MPEG-PLGA scaffolds ± DS. Twelve weeks after surgery the rabbits were sacrificed and the defects were analysed using histological grading with O'Driscoll scoring. Results DS addition to MPEG-PLGA scaffolds resulted in a significant upregulation of fibronectin gene expression on day 1. No differences were observed in chondrogenic gene expression. There were no differences between the two groups in histological grading (+DS 10.3 and −DS 9.6). Conclusions Upregulation of fibronectin in vitro indicating early cell-scaffold interaction and attachment did not result in improved cartilage repair in an osteochondral defect model in rabbits.

A Stereological Method for the Quantitative Evaluation of Cartilage Repair Tissue

“…A previous study showed that even trained pathologists in a side-by-side comparison were not able to detect a reduction in cell number by one third. 11 Implementation of semiquantitative scores is often limited by the evaluation of only a few sections through the defect center 42 or at selected locations, 43 indicating that these would represent the morphology of the entire defect. This omission of unbiased sampling may be a potential source of bias despite a comprehensive evaluation of the selected sections.…”

HR007: a family of biomaterials based on glycosaminoglycans for tissue repair

“…Besides the properties of HA and CS, the presence of the other GAGs could contribute to the development of new ECM. Specifically, it has been shown that DS can increase the amount of HA produced by synoviocytes, could reduce the degradation of aggrecan by aggrecanases and triggers the maturation of MSCs (Foldager et al , ). Moreover, aggrecan, which is the main proteoglycan in cartilage, contains KS and, finally, HS exerts a protective effect on cartilage by the downregulation of Mmp3 and Adamts5, proteases which participate in the degradation of aggrecan (Jochman et al , ).…”

Tissue Engineering Stratified Scaffolds for Articular Cartilage and Subchondral Bone Defects Repair

“…A rticular cartilage and subchondral bones may suffer degeneration and functional losses from trauma, osteoarthritis, and other less common diseases, [1][2][3][4][5][6] which may lead to severe pain, joint deformities, and motion losses. Osteochondral defects not only affect the quality of life for individuals but also increase public health spending.…”

“…5,7 Moreover, articular cartilage does not have a perfect repairing capability due to a lack of cells and vessels. [2][3][4]8 Surgeons and researchers have been testing different repair and regeneration treatments, such as marrow stimulation technique (microfracture), osteochondral autograft implantation, and autologous chondrocytes transplantation. [9][10][11][12][13] Although these treatments are effective, disadvantages exist, such as the lack of regenerative hyaline cartilage tissue, donor site morbidity, and limited available tissues.…”