by Keyword: Chondrogenic differentiation
Rubí-Sans, G., Recha-Sancho, L., Pérez-Amodio, S., Mateos-Timoneda, M. Á., Semino, C. E., Engel, E., (2020). Development of a three-dimensional bioengineered platform for articular cartilage regeneration Biomolecules 10, (1), 52 
Degenerative cartilage pathologies are nowadays a major problem for the world population. Factors such as age, genetics or obesity can predispose people to suffer from articular cartilage degeneration, which involves severe pain, loss of mobility and consequently, a loss of quality of life. Current strategies in medicine are focused on the partial or total replacement of affected joints, physiotherapy and analgesics that do not address the underlying pathology. In an attempt to find an alternative therapy to restore or repair articular cartilage functions, the use of bioengineered tissues is proposed. In this study we present a three-dimensional (3D) bioengineered platform combining a 3D printed polycaprolactone (PCL) macrostructure with RAD16-I, a soft nanofibrous self-assembling peptide, as a suitable microenvironment for human mesenchymal stem cells’ (hMSC) proliferation and differentiation into chondrocytes. This 3D bioengineered platform allows for long-term hMSC culture resulting in chondrogenic differentiation and has mechanical properties resembling native articular cartilage. These promising results suggest that this approach could be potentially used in articular cartilage repair and regeneration.
JTD Keywords: 3D printing, Chondrogenic differentiation, Polycaprolactone, RAD16-I self-assembling peptide
Rodríguez-Pereira, Cristina, Lagunas, Anna, Casanellas, Ignasi, Vida, Yolanda, Pérez-Inestrosa, Ezequiel, Andrades, José A., Becerra, José, Samitier, Josep, Blanco, Francisco J., Magalhães, Joana, (2020). RGD-dendrimer-poly(L-lactic) acid nanopatterned substrates for the early chondrogenesis of human mesenchymal stromal cells derived from osteoarthritic and healthy donors Materials 13, (10), 2247
Aiming to address a stable chondrogenesis derived from mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) to be applied in cartilage repair strategies at the onset of osteoarthritis (OA), we analyzed the effect of arginine–glycine–aspartate (RGD) density on cell condensation that occurs during the initial phase of chondrogenesis. For this, we seeded MSC-derived from OA and healthy (H) donors in RGD-dendrimer-poly(L-lactic) acid (PLLA) nanopatterned substrates (RGD concentrations of 4 × 10−9, 10−8, 2.5 × 10−8, and 10−2 w/w), during three days and compared to a cell pellet conventional three-dimensional culture system. Molecular gene expression (collagens type-I and II–COL1A1 and COL2A1, tenascin-TNC, sex determining region Y-box9-SOX9, and gap junction protein alpha 1–GJA1) was determined as well as the cell aggregates and pellet size, collagen type-II and connexin 43 proteins synthesis. This study showed that RGD-tailored first generation dendrimer (RGD-Cys-D1) PLLA nanopatterned substrates supported the formation of pre-chondrogenic condensates from OA- and H-derived human bone marrow-MSCs with enhanced chondrogenesis regarding the cell pellet conventional system (presence of collagen type-II and connexin 43, both at the gene and protein level). A RGD-density dependent trend was observed for aggregates size, in concordance with previous studies. Moreover, the nanopatterns’ had a higher effect on OA-derived MSC morphology, leading to the formation of bigger and more compact aggregates with improved expression of early chondrogenic markers.
JTD Keywords: Cell condensation, Gap junctions, RGD-density, Chondrogenic differentiation, Osteoarthritis
