Prof. Qiuyu Zhang (Northwestern Polytechnical University), Prof. Ki-Bum Lee (Rutgers University), and Prof. Liang Kong (School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University) led a study on injectable hybrid inorganic (IHI) nanoscaffold-templated stem cell assembly and used it for the regeneration of critically-sized cartilage defects.
Cartilage injuries are generally severe, and most of them are incurable due to cartilage tissues' innately limited regenerative ability. Developmental biology, disease modelling, and regenerative medicine are all fields which have benefited from the advent of 3D stem cell culture systems.
Once successfully transplanted, stem cells could secrete trophic factors to reduce inflammation at cartilage injury sites and later develop into cartilage cells (e.g. chondrocytes) to restore function.
Despite this, many obstacles must be overcome before stem cell therapies' therapeutic potential may be achieved. The lack of control over stem cell chondrogenic differentiation in vivo has frequently resulted in poor restorative outcomes. Furthermore, stem cells typically undergo apoptosis after injection due to the presence of oxidative stress and inflammation in the microenvironment of the damaged sites.
a)SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM SHOWING THE LONG-TERM (3 MONTHS) CARTILAGE REGENERATION PROCESS.
b)THE IN VIVO CARTILAGE REGENERATION WAS SEEN THROUGH H&E, SAFRANIN O STAINING, COL-II IMMUNOCHEMISTRY STAINING, AND THROUGH MACROSCOPES.
c) C-H SHOW THE QUANTIFICATIONS OF CARTILAGE THICKNESS (BY H&E STAINING)
CREDIT: SCIENCE CHINA PRESS
The researchers demonstrated the development of the 3D IHI nanoscaffold-templated stem cell assembly technology for enhanced 3D stem cell growth and implantation to solve these problems. Through tailored 3D cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions, the 3D-IHI nanoscaffold rapidly assembles stem cells into injectable tissue constructs. It delivers chondrogenic proteins in the assembled 3D culture systems, and controllably induces chondrogenesis through nanotopographical effects.
After being implanted in vivo in a rabbit cartilage injury model, the 3D-IHI nanoscaffold effectively modulates the dynamic microenvironment following cartilage injury by integrating the previous mentioned regenerative cues, while also scavenging for reactive oxygen species with a manganese dioxide-based composition. In this method, both short and long-term healing of cartilage abnormalities, as well as accelerated tissue regeneration and functional recovery, can be achieved.
Reference:
Shenqiang Wang et al, Injectable hybrid inorganic nanoscaffold as rapid stem cell assembly template for cartilage repair, National Science Review (2022). DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwac037
by Meher Biju
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