Adipose-derived progenitor cells profiling and cartilage tissue engineering in combination with matrix and three dimensional porous scaffolds

Abstract

Cartilage tissue engineering has been sought as an alternative for treatment of articular cartilage diseases and injuries. Adipose-derived progenitor cells (ADPCs) were of great interest for cell sources due to its ready availability. As microarray data showed, ADPCs showed more potential compared to BMSCs toward adipogenic lineage, but the opposite for chondrogenic and osteogenic lineages. In addition, a common upregulated gene for both cell types was also identified, i.e. FKBP5. Scaffold fabricated by rapid prototyping and made of novel material PCL-PEO was suggested to be suitable for soft tissue such as cartilage. Investigation of scaffolds architecture, usage of hydrogels and the dynamic culture were executed. Scaffold were seeded with chondrocytes and investigated on cells distribution, morphology, viability, metabolism, proliferation and production of extracellular matrix. Different architecture and hydrogels resulted in slightly different viability, metabolism and proliferation. The introduction of dynamic culture resulted in more production of extracellular matrix distinctive of cartilage.