Sulfated GAG mimetic peptide nanofibers enhance chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells in 3D in vitro models

Abstract

Articular cartilage, which is exposed to continuous repetitive compressive stress, has limited self-healing capacity in the case of trauma. Thus, it is crucial to develop new treatment options for the effective regeneration of the cartilage tissue. Current cellular therapy treatment options are microfracture and autologous chondrocyte implantation; however, these treatments induce the formation of fibrous cartilage, which degenerates over time, rather than functional hyaline cartilage tissue. Tissue engineering studies using biodegradable scaffolds and autologous cells are vital for developing an effective long-term treatment option. Three-dimensional scaffolds composed of glycosaminoglycan-like peptide nanofibers are synthetic, bioactive, biocompatible, and biodegradable and trigger cell-cell interactions that enhance chondrogenic differentiation of cells without using any growth factors. We showed differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into chondrocytes in both 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional culture, which produce a functional cartilage extracellular matrix, employing bioactive cues integrated into the peptide nanofiber scaffold without adding exogenous growth factors.

Reinforcing Tissue‐Engineered Cartilage: Nanofibrillated Cellulose Enhances Mechanical Properties of Alginate Dialdehyde–Gelatin Hydrogel

“…[ 58,79–81 ] Studies on the effect of zeta potential on chondrogenesis inferred that the negative charge on polymeric scaffold promoted both protein adsorption and growth factor secretion, thus upregulating the differentiation. [ 82–85 ] Further investigation on the interaction of NFC negative charges to cells and chondrogenic proteins is beneficial to deploying NFC composite hydrogel in cartilage applications.…”