Characterization of esterified hyaluronan‐gelatin polymer composites suitable for chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells

Abstract

Composite scaffolds of homogeneously mixed esterified hyaluronan (HY) and gelatin (G) were manufactured with variable component compositions (HY100%; HY95%/G5%; HY70%/G30%). The goals of this study were to analyze the produced composite scaffolds using physical and chemical methods, e.g., scanning electron microscopy, IR-spectroscopy, water contact angle, protein assay, and tensile testing as well as to assess the effects of adding gelatin to the composite scaffolds on attachment, proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells. Numbers of attached cells were significantly higher on the composite material compared to pure hyaluronan at different time points of two-dimensional or three-dimensional cell culture (p < 0.02). In composite scaffolds, a significantly greater amount of cartilage-specific extracellular matrix components was deposited after 28 days in culture (glycosaminoglycan: p < 0.001; collagen: p < 0.001) as compared with 100% hyaluronan scaffolds. Additionally, gelatin containing composite scaffolds displayed stronger promotion of collagen type II expression than pure hyaluronan scaffolds. The mechanism, by which gelatin influences cell adhesion, was examined. The effect was inhibited by collagenase treatment of the composites or by addition of α5β1-integrin blocking antibodies to the cell suspension. In summary, the results describe the establishment of a class of composite polymer scaffolds, consisting of esterified hyaluronan and gelatin, which are potentially useful for cell-based tissue engineering approaches using mesenchymal stem cells for chondrogenic differentiation.

Gelatin-based hydrogels for biomedical applications

“…Gelatin-containing composite scaffolds exhibited stronger promotion of collagen type II than pure hyaluronan scaffolds. [65] Bian et al showed that functionalizing HA hydrogels with N-cadherin mimetic peptides can promote early chondrogenesis of human bone marrow-derived MSCs and cartilage-specific matrix production. [66] Nava et al Biomaterials for 3D Cell Biology Prospective Article fabricated 3D structural niches in an organic-inorganic photoresist (SZ2080) with 1% concentration of Irgacure 369 photoinitiator [2-benzyl-2-dimethylamino-1-(-4-morpholinophenyl)-butanone-1] via 2PP and investigated tuning the mechanical properties of the niches through coating with thin layers of biomimetic hyaluronan-and gelatin-based hydrogels.…”

Differential effect of myocardial matrix and integrins on cardiac differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells

“…Human MSCs (hMSCs) are known to express multiple types of collagens and integrins (Docheva et al, 2007;Gronthos et al, 2001). Matrix and integrin-associated differentiation of hMSC towards chondrocytes and osteocytes have been reported (Kundu et al, 2008;Angele et al, 2008). However, their roles in cardiac differentiation of hMSCs are not well studied.…”

Fabrication of gelatin–hyaluronic acid hybrid scaffolds with tunable porous structures for soft tissue engineering

“…One is to improve the cell adhesion onto HA-based scaffolds by coating of scaffolds with ECM proteins such as collagen and fibronectin [19] or covalent binding of Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) to a cross-linked HA [20]. The other one is to develop HA-based hybrid scaffolds in the form of nanofibers, hydrogels, and sponges by combining HA with other biomaterials such as collagen [1,21], gelatin [8,22,23], chitosan [24,25] and silk fibroin [18,26].…”