A tissue engineering approach to address craniofacial defects requires a biomaterial that balances macro-scale mechanical stiffness and strength with the micron-scale features that promote cell expansion and tissue biosynthesis. Such criteria are often in opposition, leading to suboptimal mechanical competence or bioactivity. We report the use of a multiscale composite biomaterial that integrates a polycaprolactone (PCL) reinforcement structure with a mineralized collagen-glycosaminoglycan scaffold to circumvent conventional tradeoffs between mechanics and bioactivity. The composite promotes activation of the canonical bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2) pathway and subsequent mineralization of adipose-derived stem cells in the absence of supplemental BMP-2 or osteogenic media. We subsequently examined new bone infill in the acellular composite, scaffold alone, or PCL support in 10 mm dia. ramus mandibular defects in Yorkshire pigs. We report an analytical approach to quantify radial, angular, and depth bone infill from micro-computed tomography data. The collagen-PCL composite showed improved overall infill, and significantly increased radial and angular bone infill versus the PCL cage alone. Bone infill was further enhanced in the composite for defects that penetrated the medullary cavity, suggesting recruitment of marrow-derived cells. These results indicate a multiscale mineralized collagen-PCL composite offers strategic advantages for regenerative repair of craniofacial bone defects.
Pellet cultures are commonly used to study chondrogenic differentiation in vitro. Our laboratory has demonstrated pellets made with chondrocytes grow in size during culture and produce cartilage matrix, but pellets made with adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASC) grow only slightly, producing little cartilage matrix. The objective of this study was to determine if differences in chondrocyte and ASC pellet growth result from differences in cell proliferation or in deposition of extracellular matrix. Primary chondrocytes and ASC from adult pigs were cultured in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM) with 10% fetal bovine serum. To determine baseline proliferation rates in monolayer culture, cells were grown on coverslips in 10 µM bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) for 24 h and immunostained for BrdU labelling. For pellet cultures, 5 × 105 cells were placed in 15 mL-conical tubes, pelleted by centrifugation in 1.0 mL of chondrogenic base media (CBM: DMEM + 40 µg mL–1 of proline, 50 µM ascorbic acid-2-phosphate, 100 nM dexamethasone, and 1× insulin-transferrin-selenium), and cultured in CBM for 1, and 4 weeks. To detect proliferation in pellets, 1- and 2-week cultured samples were labelled with 10 µM BrdU for 24 h before harvest. Pellets were fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde, embedded, and sectioned on a Leica CM1900 cryostat (Leica Microsystems, Wetzlar, Germany). To assess chondrogenic differentiation and matrix expression, sections were stained for collagen II, keratin sulfate, and chondroitin sulfate. Images were captured and distance between adjacent nuclei in 1- and 4-week pellets were measured using Zeiss imaging software. As expected, cells on coverslips showed BrdU labelling, with higher labelling in ASC cultures indicating faster proliferation (n = 5, 77.3 ± 3.74% chondrocyte v. 92.1 ± 2.88% ASC; α = 0.05; P < 0.0001; Student’s t-test). However, BrdU labelling was not seen in sections from ASC or chondrocyte pellets (n = 5), at either 1 or 2 weeks. Absence of cellular proliferation in pellets was verified by negative staining for the mitotic marker Aurora KinaseB (AurKB). Cartilage matrix staining was strong in chondrocyte pellets at all time points and absent in ASC pellets. Cell nuclei were closely packed in both ASC and chondrocyte pellets at 1 week, but a significant increase in distance between adjacent nuclei with interspersed matrix staining was noted in chondrocyte pellets at 4 weeks (n = 4, 11.88 ± 0.67 µm at 1 week v. 26.85 ± 2.06 µm at 4 weeks; α = 0.05; P < 0.0001; Student’s t-test). As TGFβ3 has been shown to induce chondrogenesis in ASC, ASC pellets were cultured in CBM + 10 ng of TGFβ3 for 1 and 2 weeks (n = 4). The TGFβ3 treatment did not induce cell proliferation in pellets, as sections were negative for BrdU. However, expression of cartilage markers keratan sulfate and chondroitin were noted. Based on our data, neither ASC nor chondrocytes proliferate in pellet culture, and chondrocyte pellet growth is due to extracellular matrix deposition.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.