软骨基质来源定向结构支架复合软骨细胞体外构建组织工程软骨的研究

目的：探讨采用软骨细胞外基质材料制备的定向结构软骨支架复合软骨细胞,在体外静态培养条件下生成组织工程软骨的可能性。方法：制备牛关节软骨细胞外基质材料,利用温度梯度热诱导相分离技术构建具备垂直定向孔道结构的软骨支架,同时采用传统冷冻干燥方法制备非定向支架,检测两组支架的力学性能;提取兔关节软骨细胞,分别接种两组支架,体外静态培养2周及4周后取材,对构建的组织工程软骨进行组织切片染色、生物化学分析及生物力学检测。结果：定向软骨支架的压缩弹性模量数值明显高于非定向软骨支架,体外培养时定向支架上种子细胞在3-9d内增殖高于非定向支架,差异有统计学意义（P〈0．05）;体外静态培养4周后形成的两组新生组织工程软骨进行软骨特异性染色均呈阳性,在定向组新生软骨切片中在垂直方向上可见大量呈规则平行排列的粗大胶原纤维,两组新生软骨的生物化学检测包括总DNA、总GAG及总胶原含量差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）。定向组织工程软骨压缩弹性模量在2周及4周时均高于非定向组织工程软骨,差异有统计学意义（P〈0．05）。但两组组织工程软骨上述指标均显著低于正常关节软骨（P〈0．05）。结论：软骨细胞外基质材料制备的定向结构软骨支架复合软骨细胞,在体外静态培养条件下能够成功生成具有定向纤维结构的组织工程软骨,并可以有效促进新生软骨组织力学性能的提升,在软骨组织工程中具有良好的应用前景。     

肌腱组织工程支架与种子细胞研究进展

目的:综述肌腱组织工程支架材料、细胞来源、制备技术及体外构建的研究进展.方法:查阅近期肌腱组织工程研究的相关文献,对组织工程肌腱支架的材料来源、制备技术,复合细胞种类,体外构建力学刺激等进行分析、归纳.结果:肌腱组织工程支架材料有天然材料、人工合成材料及复合材料等;制备技术包括静电纺丝和编织法等;其中支架材料的表面修饰是组织工程化肌腱构建的重要环节.与肌腱材料进行复合的种子细胞有肌腱细胞、骨髓间充质干细胞及成纤维细胞等.结论:复合材料是近年肌腱组织工程支架材料研究的重点,静电纺丝技术是一种具有潜力的支架制备技术,支架材料的表面修饰可促进细胞在支架上的黏附及肌腱的形成,种子细胞的研究仍是肌腱组织工程发展的瓶颈,周期性张力的存在为组织工程化肌腱的形成创造了条件.     

微载体技术在软骨损伤修复中的应用与展望北大核心CSCD

软骨内部无血管结构、细胞外基质含量高的特点,使软骨组织的自我恢复能力很差。在临床治疗中,轻度的软骨缺损通常采用物理治疗或药物治疗方式,严重者需进行手术治疗。近年来,软骨组织工程技术为治疗软骨缺损提供了新的思路,与传统的手术治疗方式相比,结合软骨组织工程技术进行治疗具有创口小、恢复佳的优点。将微载体技术融入组织工程支架的设计中,可以利用微载体直径小、能够负载多种生长因子的特点,进一步扩展支架功能、促进软骨组织再生。文中首先对微载体技术进行介绍,对近年来微载体的主要制备方式和创新内容进行了概括总结,作为后续介绍的基础内容。然后对应用于软骨修复中的微载体进行了材料和功能上的划分,介绍了不同材料、不同功能微载体的属性特征和在软骨修复方面的具体应用,最后结合该领域发展历程对其今后发展趋势及方向进行展望,并基于笔者团队关于骨软骨一体化层状支架的研究,提出了通过微载体优化层状支架性能的思路,有望制备出更贴合天然软骨结构特征的仿生支架。     

生物支架材料——组织工程连载之二

具有三维结构的支架材料是组织工程的核心内容之一。现有组织工程支架可分为天然生物材料、合成有机材料和无机材料三类。支架材料近年来研究十分活跃,不仅在组织工程的最早产品人工皮肤领域进行了更为完善的研究和开发,同时在诸如人工骨、软骨、神经、血管、皮肤、肝、脾、肾、膀胱等方面进行了大量研究和探索。与普通组织工程支架需要预先制备并在体外成型不同,近年来在骨和软骨组织工程实践中兴起的可注射支架具有许多优势,是未来组织工程支架发展的重要方向之一。     

丝素蛋白在组织工程中的应用及进展

组织工程是生物支架材料、种子细胞和生物活性因子的有机组合,其中支架材料为种子细胞的黏附载体,为细胞的生长增殖及新陈代谢提供适宜的微环境,并最终被生物体逐渐降解而被再生组织替代。支架材料为周围组织提供机械支持,并引导再生组织按照预定结构和方向生长。同时,各种生物活性物质可以加入支架材料中,比如各种生长因子以及抗体等,扩大了支架材料的应用范围。丝素蛋白具有可控且缓慢的生物降解性,突出的机械性能,良好的生物相容性,支持多种细胞的黏附、生长和分化增殖,已经用于血管、骨、软骨及神经组织等方面的组织工程研究。     

丝素蛋白/壳聚糖复合材料在组织工程中应用的研究进展

丝素蛋白(silk fibroin,SF)和壳聚糖(chitosan,CS)具有良好的生物相容性和可降解性,然而单一组分的SF和CS支架材料的诸多缺点限制了其在组织工程研究中的应用。SF/CS复合材料克服单一组分SF和CS支架的缺点,具有力学性能优良、可塑性好、孔隙率及孔径可调和组分优势互补等特点。多种方法制备的SF/CS复合材料(微米/纳米颗粒、膜、纳米纤维、水凝胶和三维多孔支架)已用于骨、软骨、皮肤、神经、脂肪、心脏和角膜等组织工程或组织损伤修复的研究中。目前,国内外对于SF/CS复合材料在组织工程中应用的研究尚处于起步阶段。主要对SF/CS复合材料的特点、制备方法以及在多种组织工程中应用的研究现状进行了简要介绍。     

3D生物打印在软骨修复中的应用*

关节软骨损伤后的自我修复是医学界一直在研究和探讨的难题。3D生物打印技术可以精准的分配载细胞生物材料,构建复杂的三维活体组织,在优化软骨缺损修复组织的内部结构、机械性能以及生物相容性上有很大优势,因此近年来成为软骨修复组织工程领域的研究热点。重点介绍了软骨生物3D生物打印的最新进展,包括软骨生物打印“墨水”材料的选择、种子细胞的来源以及3D生物打印技术的发展。此外,还阐述了3D生物打印技术在组织工程学应用上的部分局限性,并对其在软骨修复领域的发展与应用进行了预测。     

γ-聚谷氨酸/壳聚糖多孔复合支架材料的制备、表征及性能的研究

为提高骨组织工程支架材料的力学性能,改善其生物活性,修饰改性天然高分子,本文采用接枝共聚/冷冻干燥法制备多孔γ-聚谷氨酸/壳聚糖复合材料,通过红外吸收光谱仪(FT-IR)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、吸水性试验以及降解性试验等对材料进行了材料结构表征和性能评价,为其新型组织工程材料提供科学依据.结果显示:该复合材料具有多孔结构,孔径约100.29 ±40.46 μm,空隙率83.45％;该复合材料的平均吸水性为465％±38％,500 rpm离心3min后保水性能达到329％±33％;该复合材料具有良好的降解性,比壳聚糖有更好的降解性,12周降解百分率为12.96％.该共聚复合材料能有效地克服γ-聚谷氨酸和壳聚糖各自的缺点,是一种很有潜力的组织工程支架材料.     

诱导多能干细胞在组织工程修复关节软骨损伤的研究进展

关节软骨位于骨骼末端,主要起承重、减震和润滑关节的作用。由于缺乏血运,关节软骨损伤后难以自行修复。关节软骨损伤为临床常见疾病,目前尚无理想的方法促进其修复和再生,而以种子细胞、支架材料和细胞生长因子为基础的组织工程技术为关节软骨修复开辟了新道路。诱导多能干细胞(i PSC)作为软骨组织工程全新的种子细胞,与其他种子细胞相比,在软骨细胞移植及体外软骨组织和器官再造方面具有更广阔的应用前景。随着对i PSC的重编程机制、诱导方法、定向软骨分化条件以及临床应用安全性等研究的不断深入,其应用于临床的脚步将越来越近。     

工程化软骨支架用壳聚糖基仿生材料研究进展

从材料学的视角介绍了壳聚糖在软骨组织工程支架中的应用情况,分析和总结了现阶段壳聚糖基仿生支架材料的特点,提出用数学和统计的方法研究仿生三维织物的构想,以期明确值得关注的研究方向.     

Nanofibers and their applications in tissue engineering

Developing scaffolds that mimic the architecture of tissue at the nanoscale is one of the major challenges in the field of tissue engineering. The development of nanofibers has greatly enhanced the scope for fabricating scaffolds that can potentially meet this challenge. Currently, there are three techniques available for the synthesis of nanofibers: electrospinning, self-assembly, and phase separation. Of these techniques, electrospinning is the most widely studied technique and has also demonstrated the most promising results in terms of tissue engineering applications. The availability of a wide range of natural and synthetic biomaterials has broadened the scope for development of nanofibrous scaffolds, especially using the electrospinning technique. The three dimensional synthetic biodegradable scaffolds designed using nanofibers serve as an excellent framework for cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. Therefore, nanofibers, irrespective of their method of synthesis, have been used as scaffolds for musculoskeletal tissue engineering (including bone, cartilage, ligament, and skeletal muscle), skin tissue engineering, vascular tissue engineering, neural tissue engineering, and as carriers for the controlled delivery of drugs, proteins, and DNA. This review summarizes the currently available techniques for nanofiber synthesis and discusses the use of nanofibers in tissue engineering and drug delivery applications.     

Osteochondral tissue engineering: scaffolds, stem cells and applications

Osteochondral tissue engineering has shown an increasing development to provide suitable strategies for the regeneration of damaged cartilage and underlying subchondral bone tissue. For reasons of the limitation in the capacity of articular cartilage to self-repair, it is essential to develop approaches based on suitable scaffolds made of appropriate engineered biomaterials. The combination of biodegradable polymers and bioactive ceramics in a variety of composite structures is promising in this area, whereby the fabrication methods, associated cells and signalling factors determine the success of the strategies. The objective of this review is to present and discuss approaches being proposed in osteochondral tissue engineering, which are focused on the application of various materials forming bilayered composite scaffolds, including polymers and ceramics, discussing the variety of scaffold designs and fabrication methods being developed. Additionally, cell sources and biological protein incorporation methods are discussed, addressing their interaction with scaffolds and highlighting the potential for creating a new generation of bilayered composite scaffolds that can mimic the native interfacial tissue properties, and are able to adapt to the biological environment.     

Chondrogenesis and developments in our understanding

Conditions affecting cartilage through damage or age-related degeneration pose significant challenges to individual patients and their healthcare systems. The disease burden will rise in the future as life expectancy increases. This has resulted in vigorous efforts to develop novel therapies to meet current and future needs. Due to the limited regenerative capacity of cartilage, in vitro tissue engineering techniques have emerged as the favoured technique by which to develop replacements. Tissue engineering is mainly concerned with developing cartilage replacements in the form of chondrocyte suspensions and three-dimensional scaffolds seeded with chondrocytes. One major limiting factor in the development of clinically useful cartilage constructs is our understanding of the process by which cartilage is formed, chondrogenesis. For example, techniques of culturing chondrocytes in vitro have been used for decades, resulting in chondrocyte-like cells which produce an extracellular matrix of similar composition to native cartilage, but with inferior physical properties. It has now been realised that one aspect of chondrogenesis which had been ignored was the physical context in which cartilage exists in vivo. This has resulted in the development of bioreactor systems which aim to introduce various physical stresses to engineered cartilage in a controlled environment. This has resulted in some improvements in the quality of tissue engineered cartilage. This is but one example of how the knowledge of chondrogenesis has been translated into research practice. This paper aims to review what is currently known about the process of chondrogenesis and discusses how this knowledge can be applied to tissue engineering.     

Composite scaffolds for cartilage tissue engineering

Tissue engineering remains a promising therapeutic strategy for the repair or regeneration of diseased or damaged tissues. Previous approaches have typically focused on combining cells and bioactive molecules (e.g., growth factors, cytokines and DNA fragments) with a biomaterial scaffold that functions as a template to control the geometry of the newly formed tissue, while facilitating the attachment, proliferation, and differentiation of embedded cells. Biomaterial scaffolds also play a crucial role in determining the functional properties of engineered tissues, including biomechanical characteristics such as inhomogeneity, anisotropy, nonlinearity or viscoelasticity. While single-phase, homogeneous materials have been used extensively to create numerous types of tissue constructs, there continue to be significant challenges in the development of scaffolds that can provide the functional properties of load-bearing tissues such as articular cartilage. In an attempt to create more complex scaffolds that promote the regeneration of functional engineered tissues, composite scaffolds comprising two or more distinct materials have been developed. This paper reviews various studies on the development and testing of composite scaffolds for the tissue engineering of articular cartilage, using techniques such as embedded fibers and textiles for reinforcement, embedded solid structures, multi-layered designs, or three-dimensionally woven composite materials. In many cases, the use of composite scaffolds can provide unique biomechanical and biological properties for the development of functional tissue engineering scaffolds.     

Biochemical and biophysical aspects of collagen nanostructure in the extracellular matrix

ECM is composed of different collagenous and non-collagenous proteins. Collagen nanofibers play a dominant role in maintaining the biological and structural integrity of various tissues and organs, including bone, skin, tendon, blood vessels, and cartilage. Artificial collagen nanofibers are increasingly significant in numerous tissue engineering applications and seem to be ideal scaffolds for cell growth and proliferation. The modern tissue engineering task is to develop three-dimensional scaffolds of appropriate biological and biomechanical properties, at the same time mimicking the natural extracellular matrix and promoting tissue regeneration. Furthermore, it should be biodegradable, bioresorbable and non-inflammatory, should provide sufficient nutrient supply and have appropriate viscoelasticity and strength. Attributed to collagen features mentioned above, collagen fibers represent an obvious appropriate material for tissue engineering scaffolds. The aim of this minireview is, besides encapsulation of the basic biochemical and biophysical properties of collagen, to summarize the most promising modern methods and technologies for production of collagen nanofibers and scaffolds for artificial tissue development.     

Evaluation of biological protein-based collagen scaffolds in cartilage and musculoskeletal tissue engineering--a systematic review of the literature

The term tissue engineering is the technology that combines cells, engineering and biological/synthetic material in order to repair, replace or regenerate biological tissues such as bone, muscle, tendons and cartilage. The major human applications of tissue engineering are: skin, bone, cartilage, corneas, blood vessels, left mainstem bronchus and urinary structures. In this systematic review several criteria were identified as the most desirable characteristics of an ideal scaffold. These state that an ideal scaffolds needs to be biodegradable, possess mechanical strength, be highly porous, biocompatible, non-cytotoxic, non antigentic, stuitable for cell attachment, proliferation and differentiation, flexible and elastic, three dimensional, osteoconductive and support the transport of nutrients and metabolic waste. Subsequently, studies reporting on the various advantages and disadvantages of using collagen based scaffolds in musculoskeletal and cartilage tissue engineering were identified. The purpose of this review is to 1) provide a list of ideal characteristics of a scaffold as identified in the literature 2) identify different types of biological protein-based collagen scaffolds used in musculoskeletal and cartilage tissue engineering 3) assess how many of the criteria each scaffold type meets 4) weigh different scaffolds against each other according to their relative properties and shortcomings. The rationale behind this approach is that the ideal scaffold material has not yet been identified. Hence, this review will define how many of the identified ideal characteristics are fulfilled by natural collagen-based scaffolds and address the shortcomings of its use as found in the literature.     

Hydrophilic gelatin and hyaluronic acid-treated PLGA scaffolds for cartilage tissue engineering

Tissue engineering provides a new strategy for repairing damaged cartilage. Surface and mechanical properties of scaffolds play important roles in inducing cell growth.?Aim: The aim of this study was to fabricate and characterize PLGA and gelatin/hyaluronic acid-treated PLGA (PLGA-GH) sponge scaffolds for articular cartilage tissue engineering. Methods: The PLGA-GH scaffolds were cross-linked with gelatin and hyaluronic acid. Primary chondrocytes isolated from porcine articular cartilages were used to assess cell compatibility. The characteristic PLGA-GH scaffold was higher in water uptake ratio and degradation rate within 42 days than the PLGA scaffold. Results: The mean compressive moduli of PLGA and PLGA-GH scaffolds were 1.72±0.50 MPa and 1.86±0.90 MPa, respectively. The cell attachment ratio, proliferation, and extracellular matrix secretion on PLGA-GH scaffolds are superior to those of PLGA scaffolds. Conclusions: In our study, PLGA-GH scaffolds exhibited improvements in cell biocompatibility, cell proliferation, extracellular matrix synthesis, and appropriate mechanical and structural properties for potential engineering cartilage applications.     

Repair and regeneration of osteochondral defects in the articular joints

People suffering from pain due to osteoarthritic or rheumatoidal changes in the joints are still waiting for a better treatment. Although some studies have achieved success in repairing small cartilage defects, there is no widely accepted method for complete repair of osteochondral defects. Also joint replacements have not yet succeeded in replacing of natural cartilage without complications. Therefore, there is room for a new medical approach, which outperforms currently used methods. The aim of this study is to show potential of using a tissue engineering approach for regeneration of osteochondral defects. The critical review of currently used methods for treatment of osteochondral defects is also provided. In this study, two kinds of hybrid scaffolds developed in Hutmacher's group have been analysed. The first biphasic scaffold consists of fibrin and PCL. The fibrin serves as a cartilage phase while the porous PCL scaffold acts as the subchondral phase. The second system comprises of PCL and PCL-TCP. The scaffolds were fabricated via fused deposition modeling which is a rapid prototyping system. Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal cells were isolated from New Zealand White rabbits, cultured in vitro and seeded into the scaffolds. Bone regenerations of the subchondral phases were quantified via micro CT analysis and the results demonstrated the potential of the porous PCL and PCL-TCP scaffolds in promoting bone healing. Fibrin was found to be lacking in this aspect as it degrades rapidly. On the other hand, the porous PCL scaffold degrades slowly hence it provides an effective mechanical support. This study shows that in the field of cartilage repair or replacement, tissue engineering may have big impact in the future. In vivo bone and cartilage engineering via combining a novel composite, biphasic scaffold technology with a MSC has been shown a high potential in the knee defect regeneration in the animal models. However, the clinical application of tissue engineering requires the future research work due to several problems, such as scaffold design, cellular delivery and implantation strategies.