Chitosan‐agarose scaffolds supports chondrogenesis of Human Wharton's Jelly mesenchymal stem cells

Abstract

Tissue engineering strategies for cartilage aim to restore the complex biomechanical and biochemical properties of the native cartilage. To mimic the in vivo microenvironment, we developed a novel scaffold based on chitosan-agarose (CHAG scaffold) resembling the properties of native cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM) that aids in vitro cartilage formation. The CHAG scaffolds had pore size ranging from 75 to 300 µm and the degradation of 18% over 6 months in PBS. L929 cells and Human Wharton's Jelly-Mesenchymal Stem Cells (HWJ-MSCs) attached well and grew in the CHAG scaffolds. HWJ-MSCs seeded on CHAG scaffolds and cultured in chondrogenic medium were able to differentiate into chondrogenic lineage. Simultaneous supplementation of growth factors (BMP-2, TGF-β3) significantly enhanced chondrogenesis and neo ECM synthesis. CHAG scaffolds seeded with HWJ-MSCs cultured in chondrogenic media supplemented with both BMP-2 and TGF-β3 produced 12.71 ± 1.0 µg GAG/µg DNA compared to the one which received no or either of the growth factors. Our findings suggest that CHAG scaffolds could be used as a biomaterial scaffold for cell mediated repair approaches based on HWJ-MSCs for articular cartilage. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 105A: 1845-1855, 2017.

Preparation and characterization of a soluble eggshell membrane/agarose composite scaffold with possible applications in cartilage regeneration

“…However, the scaffold in wet condition decreased their mechanical strength, that did not match the natural tissue. This limitation could be solved in future by introducing a third component as done in other cases in which as example materials as fibroin (Park et al., 2012; Singh et al., 2016) of chitosan (Merlin Rajesh Lal et al., 2017) have been blended with the Agr to improve its mechanical response. The presence of ESM in the scaffold was proved effective in sustaining the cells proliferation during an in vitro test.…”

Challenges in Fabrication of Tissue-Engineered Cartilage with Correct Cellular Colonization and Extracellular Matrix Assembly

“…Agarose- and alginate-based polymers have been studied for cellular seeding of chondrocytes for tissue engineering purposes [ 98 , 99 , 100 , 101 ]. They are applicable to be mixed either together or with some other polymer material, such as with chitosan to form a composite material to improve mechanical strength, porosity, cellular adhesion, or some other desired feature of scaffolds [ 102 ]. Although many cell types can be encapsulated in agarose- or alginate-based hydrogels and many in vitro studies have revealed a compatibility of carbohydrate hydrogels to maintain chondrogenic or chondrocyte-specific phenotype [ 99 , 101 ], routine therapy-related clinical applications have not been reported.…”

Biological Response to Macroporous Chitosan-Agarose Bone Scaffolds Comprising Mg- and Zn-Doped Nano-Hydroxyapatite

“…It is noteworthy that both the production method of the bone scaffolds and also their composition are innovative since there are no studies in the literature describing biomaterials made of a chitosan-agarose cryogel matrix reinforced with HA nanopowder. Scientific reports published by other authors present biomaterials for potential bone regenerations which were fabricated by applying completely different production methods and using only two of the mentioned components, e.g., scaffolds composed of only chitosan and hydroxyapatite [11,12], agarose and hydroxyapatite [13,14,15] or chitosan and agarose [16].…”