Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center , Durham, NC, USA.
Tissue Eng Part A. 2010 Apr;16(4):1291-301. doi: 10.1089/ten.TEA.2009.0480.
Articular cartilage possesses complex mechanical properties that provide healthy joints the ability to bear repeated loads and maintain smooth articulating surfaces over an entire lifetime. In this study, we utilized a fiber-reinforced composite scaffold designed to mimic the anisotropic, nonlinear, and viscoelastic biomechanical characteristics of native cartilage as the basis for developing functional tissue-engineered constructs. Three-dimensionally woven poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) scaffolds were encapsulated with a fibrin hydrogel, seeded with human adipose-derived stem cells, and cultured for 28 days in chondrogenic culture conditions. Biomechanical testing showed that PCL-based constructs exhibited baseline compressive and shear properties similar to those of native cartilage and maintained these properties throughout the culture period, while supporting the synthesis of a collagen-rich extracellular matrix. Further, constructs displayed an equilibrium coefficient of friction similar to that of native articular cartilage (mu(eq) approximately 0.1-0.3) over the prescribed culture period. Our findings show that three-dimensionally woven PCL-fibrin composite scaffolds can be produced with cartilage-like mechanical properties, and that these engineered properties can be maintained in culture while seeded stem cells regenerate a new, functional tissue construct.
关节软骨具有复杂的机械性能，使健康的关节能够承受反复的负荷，并在整个生命周期内保持光滑的关节表面。在这项研究中，我们利用纤维增强复合材料支架作为基础，设计成模仿天然软骨的各向异性、非线性和粘弹性生物力学特性，来开发功能性组织工程构建体。三维编织的聚己内酯（PCL）支架用纤维蛋白凝胶包裹，接种人脂肪来源的干细胞，并在软骨形成培养条件下培养 28 天。生物力学测试表明，基于 PCL 的构建体表现出与天然软骨相似的基础压缩和剪切特性，并在整个培养期间保持这些特性，同时支持富含胶原蛋白的细胞外基质的合成。此外，构建体在规定的培养期间显示出类似于天然关节软骨的平衡摩擦系数（μeq 约为 0.1-0.3）。我们的研究结果表明，三维编织的 PCL-纤维蛋白复合材料支架可以具有类似软骨的机械性能，并且这些工程特性可以在培养过程中保持，同时接种的干细胞可以再生新的、功能性的组织构建体。
