Tissue-engineered cartilage formation using a fibrin-hyaluronate composite

초록

Articular cartilage is a unique tissue as being avascular, aneural, and has a limited capacity for self-repair. Transplantation of autologous chondrocytes have been tried to repair damaged articular cartilage with some moderate success by employing various bioresorable polymer as delivery scaffolds. Hyaluronate (HA), an intrinsic component in articular cartilage has been explored as a biological matrix for three dimensional chondrocyte cultures. Fibrin Sealant widely used in various surgery including orthopedic surgery as a provisional tissue adhesives have also been tried as a potential delivery vehicle for various biologics and ECM. HA known to bind fibrin and formed an inclusive gel composite failed to support growth and differentiation of chondrocytes into three dimensional matrix in vitro culture system. Utilizing such an adhesiveness of clot gel matrix with scaffold for cell expansion as observed in would repair of tissues, we have constructed gel composite with fibrin and HA (Hyalplast) and examined its physiological properties in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that Hyalplast composite gel is capable of providing ready made cell delivery vehicle for transplant fixation and may allow a permissive microenvironment and the long-term viability of the transplanted chondrocytes. Fibrin-HA composite gel (Hyalplast) was able to support both growth and differentiation of chondrocytes into cartilage in vivo nude mouse implant as well as in the repair of articular cartilage. Fibrin-HA composite gel was superior over fibrin gel alone for chondrocytes growth scaffold in regenerating the cartilage as observed in vivo study. Fibrin-HA composite gel was shown to be effective adhesive delivery vehicle of chondrocytes to the defective articular cartilage in vivo. These results demonstrated the feasibility of tissue-engineered cartilage formation using fibrin- HA composite scaffold mold.