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Regeneration of hyaline cartilage promoted by xenogeneic mesenchymal stromal cells embedded within elastin-like recombinamer-based bioactive hydrogels

Pescador, David ; Ibáñez-Fonseca, Arturo LU orcid ; Sánchez-Guijo, Fermín ; Briñón, Jesús G ; Arias, Francisco Javier ; Muntión, Sandra ; Hernández, Cristina ; Girotti, Alessandra ; Alonso, Matilde and Del Cañizo, María Consuelo , et al. (2017) In Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine 28(8). p.1-11
Abstract

Over the last decades, novel therapeutic tools for osteochondral regeneration have arisen from the combination of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) and highly specialized smart biomaterials, such as hydrogel-forming elastin-like recombinamers (ELRs), which could serve as cell-carriers. Herein, we evaluate the delivery of xenogeneic human MSCs (hMSCs) within an injectable ELR-based hydrogel carrier for osteochondral regeneration in rabbits. First, a critical-size osteochondral defect was created in the femora of the animals and subsequently filled with the ELR-based hydrogel alone or with embedded hMSCs. Regeneration outcomes were evaluated after three months by gross assessment, magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography, showing... (More)

Over the last decades, novel therapeutic tools for osteochondral regeneration have arisen from the combination of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) and highly specialized smart biomaterials, such as hydrogel-forming elastin-like recombinamers (ELRs), which could serve as cell-carriers. Herein, we evaluate the delivery of xenogeneic human MSCs (hMSCs) within an injectable ELR-based hydrogel carrier for osteochondral regeneration in rabbits. First, a critical-size osteochondral defect was created in the femora of the animals and subsequently filled with the ELR-based hydrogel alone or with embedded hMSCs. Regeneration outcomes were evaluated after three months by gross assessment, magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography, showing complete filling of the defect and the de novo formation of hyaline-like cartilage and subchondral bone in the hMSC-treated knees. Furthermore, histological sectioning and staining of every sample confirmed regeneration of the full cartilage thickness and early subchondral bone repair, which was more similar to the native cartilage in the case of the cell-loaded ELR-based hydrogel. Overall histological differences between the two groups were assessed semi-quantitatively using the Wakitani scale and found to be statistically significant (p < 0.05). Immunofluorescence against a human mitochondrial antibody three months post-implantation showed that the hMSCs were integrated into the de novo formed tissue, thus suggesting their ability to overcome the interspecies barrier. Hence, we conclude that the use of xenogeneic MSCs embedded in an ELR-based hydrogel leads to the successful regeneration of hyaline cartilage in osteochondral lesions.

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publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
keywords
Animals, Biocompatible Materials/chemistry, Biomechanical Phenomena, Bone Marrow Cells/metabolism, Bone and Bones/metabolism, Cartilage, Articular/pathology, Elastin/chemistry, Humans, Hyaline Cartilage/growth & development, Hydrogels/chemistry, Imaging, Three-Dimensional, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Mesenchymal Stem Cells/cytology, Microscopy, Fluorescence, Middle Aged, Rabbits, Regeneration, Reproducibility of Results, Tissue Engineering/methods, Tomography, X-Ray Computed, Transplantation, Heterologous
in
Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine
volume
28
issue
8
article number
115
pages
1 - 11
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • pmid:28647792
  • scopus:85021273175
ISSN
1573-4838
DOI
10.1007/s10856-017-5928-1
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
b8bc62f5-83d6-4b3f-a86f-49efd325d652
date added to LUP
2025-09-14 19:43:25
date last changed
2025-09-16 03:30:45
@article{b8bc62f5-83d6-4b3f-a86f-49efd325d652,
  abstract     = {{<p>Over the last decades, novel therapeutic tools for osteochondral regeneration have arisen from the combination of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) and highly specialized smart biomaterials, such as hydrogel-forming elastin-like recombinamers (ELRs), which could serve as cell-carriers. Herein, we evaluate the delivery of xenogeneic human MSCs (hMSCs) within an injectable ELR-based hydrogel carrier for osteochondral regeneration in rabbits. First, a critical-size osteochondral defect was created in the femora of the animals and subsequently filled with the ELR-based hydrogel alone or with embedded hMSCs. Regeneration outcomes were evaluated after three months by gross assessment, magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography, showing complete filling of the defect and the de novo formation of hyaline-like cartilage and subchondral bone in the hMSC-treated knees. Furthermore, histological sectioning and staining of every sample confirmed regeneration of the full cartilage thickness and early subchondral bone repair, which was more similar to the native cartilage in the case of the cell-loaded ELR-based hydrogel. Overall histological differences between the two groups were assessed semi-quantitatively using the Wakitani scale and found to be statistically significant (p &lt; 0.05). Immunofluorescence against a human mitochondrial antibody three months post-implantation showed that the hMSCs were integrated into the de novo formed tissue, thus suggesting their ability to overcome the interspecies barrier. Hence, we conclude that the use of xenogeneic MSCs embedded in an ELR-based hydrogel leads to the successful regeneration of hyaline cartilage in osteochondral lesions.</p>}},
  author       = {{Pescador, David and Ibáñez-Fonseca, Arturo and Sánchez-Guijo, Fermín and Briñón, Jesús G and Arias, Francisco Javier and Muntión, Sandra and Hernández, Cristina and Girotti, Alessandra and Alonso, Matilde and Del Cañizo, María Consuelo and Rodríguez-Cabello, José Carlos and Blanco, Juan Francisco}},
  issn         = {{1573-4838}},
  keywords     = {{Animals; Biocompatible Materials/chemistry; Biomechanical Phenomena; Bone Marrow Cells/metabolism; Bone and Bones/metabolism; Cartilage, Articular/pathology; Elastin/chemistry; Humans; Hyaline Cartilage/growth & development; Hydrogels/chemistry; Imaging, Three-Dimensional; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Mesenchymal Stem Cells/cytology; Microscopy, Fluorescence; Middle Aged; Rabbits; Regeneration; Reproducibility of Results; Tissue Engineering/methods; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Transplantation, Heterologous}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{8}},
  pages        = {{1--11}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine}},
  title        = {{Regeneration of hyaline cartilage promoted by xenogeneic mesenchymal stromal cells embedded within elastin-like recombinamer-based bioactive hydrogels}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10856-017-5928-1}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/s10856-017-5928-1}},
  volume       = {{28}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}