Theranostics 2020; 10(22):10214-10230. doi:10.7150/thno.47909 This issue Cite
Research Paper
1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orthopaedic Implants, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200011, China.
2. Clinical and Translational Research Center for 3D Printing Technology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200011, China.
3. Department of Prosthodontics, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology & Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology, Shanghai 200011, China.
#These authors contributed equally to this work.
Rationale: Articular cartilage injury is quite common. However, post-injury cartilage repair is challenging and often requires medical intervention, which can be aided by 3D printed tissue engineering scaffolds. Specifically, the high accuracy of Melt Electro-Writing (MEW) technology facilitates the printing of scaffolds that imitate the structure and composition of natural cartilage to promote repair.
Methods: MEW and Inkjet printing technology was employed to manufacture a composite scaffold that was then implanted into a cartilage injury site through microfracture surgery. While printing polycaprolactone (PCL) or PCL/hydroxyapatite (HA) scaffolds, cytokine-containing microspheres were sprayed alternately to form multiple layers containing transforming growth factor-β1 and bone morphogenetic protein-7 (surface layer), insulin-like growth factor-1 (middle layer), and HA (deep layer).
Results: The composite biological scaffold was conducive to adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells recruited from the bone marrow and blood. Meanwhile, the environmental differences between the scaffold's layers contributed to the regional heterogeneity of chondrocytes and secreted proteins to promote functional cartilage regeneration. The biological effect of the composite scaffold was validated both in vitro and in vivo.
Conclusion: A cartilage repair scaffold was established with high precision as well as promising mechanical and biological properties. This scaffold can promote the repair of cartilage injury by using, and inducing the differentiation and expression of, autologous bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells.
Keywords: Melt Electro-Writing, Inkjet, 3D print, cartilage, chondrogenic differentiation