Recently, cartilage tissue engineering (CTE) attracts increasing attention in cartilage defect repair. In this work, kartogenin (KGN), an emerging chondroinductive nonprotein small molecule, was incorporated into a thermogel of poly(L-lactide-co-glycolide)-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA-PEG-PLGA) to fabricate an appropriate microenvironment of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) for effective cartilage regeneration. More integrative and smoother repaired articular surface, more abundant characteristic glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and collagen II (COL II), and less degeneration of normal cartilage were obtained in the KGN and BMSCs coloaded thermogel group in vivo. In conclusion, the KGN-loaded PLGA-PEG-PLGA thermogel can be utilized as an alternative support for BMSCs to regenerate damaged cartilage in vivo.

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