Silk fibroin hydrogel scaffolds incorporated with chitosan nanoparticles repair articular cartilage defects by regulating TGF-β1 and BMP-2

Arthritis Research & Therapy

Qiang Guo¹  Yuan Li²  Yanping Liu³ 

[1] Department of Hand and Foot Surgery, Linyi People’s Hospital, 276000, Linyi, People’s Republic of China;Department of Joint Surgery, Linyi People’s Hospital, 276000, Linyi, People’s Republic of China;Department of Orthopaedics of Integrated traditional and Western Medicine, Linyi People’s Hospital, 276000, Linyi, People’s Republic of China;

关键词: Hydrogel;    Transforming growth factor-β1;    Bone morphogenetic protein-2;    Tissue-engineered cartilage;    Articular cartilage defects;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13075-020-02382-x

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

Cartilage defects frequently occur around the knee joint yet cartilage has limited self-repair abilities. Hydrogel scaffolds have excellent potential for use in tissue engineering. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess the ability of silk fibroin (SF) hydrogel scaffolds incorporated with chitosan (CS) nanoparticles (NPs) to repair knee joint cartilage defects. In the present study, composite systems of CS NPs incorporated with transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1; TGF-β1@CS) and SF incorporated with bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2; TGF-β1@CS/BMP-2@SF) were developed and characterized with respect to their size distribution, zeta potential, morphology, and release of TGF-β1 and BMP-2. Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) were co-cultured with TGF-β1@CS/BMP-2@SF extracts to assess chondrogenesis in vitro using a cell counting kit-8 assay, which was followed by in vivo evaluations in a rabbit model of knee joint cartilage defects. The constructed TGF-β1@CS/BMP-2@SF composite system was successfully characterized and showed favorable biocompatibility. In the presence of TGF-β1@CS/BMP-2@SF extracts, BMSCs exhibited normal cell morphology and enhanced chondrogenic ability both in vitro and in vivo, as evidenced by the promotion of cell viability and the alleviation of cartilage defects. Thus, the TGF-β1@CS/BMP-2@SF hydrogel developed in the present study promoted chondrogenic ability of BMSCs both in vivo and in vitro by releasing TGF-β1 and BMP-2, thereby offering a novel therapeutic strategy for repairing articular cartilage defects in knee joints.

【 授权许可】

CC BY