Collagen Type Ⅰ and Ⅱ Blend Hydrogels with Mesenchymal Stem Cells as a Scaffold for Articular Cartilage Defect Repair

摘要

We found that the analyzed Col Ⅰ/Ⅱ construct in this study was capable of inducing and maintaining the differentiation of MSCs into chondrocytes in vitro, and the cellular morphology and proteoglycan staining for the Col Ⅰ/Ⅱ hydrogels matched that of articular cartilage tissue surrounding the repair tissue in vitro. We saw a greater degree of cartilage repair for the Col Ⅰ/Ⅱ hydrogels compared to the Col I hydrogels and the empty defect controls in both the medial condyle and the trochlear groove. Results from this study suggest that there is a clinical value in the cartilage repair capabilities of our Col Ⅰ/Ⅱ hydrogel with encapsulated MSCs.