Regen Ther. 2021 Nov 26;18:480-486. doi: 10.1016/j.reth.2021.11.001. eCollection 2021 Dec.

Fibronectin-coating enhances attachment and proliferation of mesenchymal stem cells on a polyurethane meniscal scaffold.

Regenerative therapy

Raquel Arredondo, Francesco Poggioli, Santos Martínez-Díaz, María Piera-Trilla, Raúl Torres-Claramunt, Laura Tío, Joan C Monllau

PMID: 34926733 PMCID: PMC8633527 DOI: 10.1016/j.reth.2021.11.001

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Partial meniscectomy is one of the most common surgical strategy for a meniscal injury, but sometimes, patients complain of knee pain due to an overload in the ablated compartment. In these cases, implantation of tissue engineering scaffold could be indicated. Currently, two commercial scaffolds, based on collagen or polycaprolactone-polyurethane (PCL-PU), are available for meniscus scaffolding. In short term follow-up assessments, both showed clinical improvement and tissue formation. However, long-term studies carried out in PCL-PU showed that the new tissue decreased in volume and assumed an irregular shape. Moreover, in some cases, the scaffold was totally reabsorbed, without new tissue formation.Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) combined with scaffolds could represents a promising approach for treating meniscal defects because of their multipotency and self-renewal. In this work, we aimed to compare the behaviour of MSCs and chondrocytes on a PCL-PU scaffold

METHODS: We isolated rabbit bone marrow MSCs (rBM-MSCs) from two skeletally mature New Zealand white rabbits and stablished the optimum culture condition to expand them. Then, they were seeded over non-coated and FN-coated scaffolds and cultured in chondrogenic conditions. To evaluate cell functionality, we performed an MTS assay to compare cell proliferation between both conditions. Finally, a histologic study was performed to assess extracellular matrix (ECM) production in both samples, and to compare them with the ones obtained with rabbit chondrocytes (rCHs) seeded in a non-coated scaffold.

RESULTS: A culture protocol based on low FBS concentration was set as the best for rBM-MSCs expansion. The MTS assay revealed that rBM-MSCs seeded on FN-coated scaffolds have more cells on proliferation (145%; 95% CI: 107%-182%) compared with rBM-MSCs seeded on non-coated scaffolds. Finally, the histologic study demonstrated that rCHs seeded on non-coated scaffolds displayed the highest production of ECM, followed by rBM-MSCs seeded on FN-coated scaffolds. Furthermore, both cell types produced a comparable ECM pattern.

CONCLUSION: These results suggest that MSCs have low capacity attachment to PCL-PU scaffolds, but the presence of integrin alpha5beta1 (FN-receptor) in MSCs allows them to interact with the FN-coated scaffolds. These results could be applied in the design of scaffolds, and might have important clinical implications in orthopaedic surgery of meniscal injuries.

© 2021 The Japanese Society for Regenerative Medicine. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.

Keywords: AMT, allograft meniscus transplantation; CMI, collagen meniscal implant; ECM, extracellular matrix; FN, fibronectin; Fibronectin; ITS, Insulin Transferrin Selenium; MNCs, mononuclear cells; MSCs, mesenchymal stem cells; Meniscal injuries; Mesenchymal stem cell; PCL-PU, polycaprolactone-polyurethane; PSR, picrosirius red; Post-meniscectomy syndrome; RT, room temperature; Scaffolds; Tissue engineering; rBM, rabbit bone marrow; rCHs, rabbit chondrocytes

Conflict of interest statement

Publication Types

• Journal Article