Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157, USA.
Biomacromolecules. 2011 Feb 14;12(2):306-13. doi: 10.1021/bm100856g. Epub 2010 Dec 23.
Cartilage tissues are often required for auricular tissue reconstruction. Currently, alloplastic ear-shaped medical implants composed of silicon and polyethylene are being used clinically. However, the use of these implants is often associated with complications, including inflammation, infection, erosion, and dislodgement. To overcome these limitations, we propose a system in which tissue-engineered cartilage serves as a shell that entirely covers the alloplastic implants. This study investigated whether cartilage tissue, engineered with chondrocytes and a fibrin hydrogel, would provide adequate coverage of a commercially used medical implant. To demonstrate the in vivo stability of cell-fibrin constructs, we tested variations of fibrinogen and thrombin concentration as well as cell density. After implantation, the retrieved engineered cartilage tissue was evaluated by histo- and immunohistochemical, biochemical, and mechanical analyses. Histomorphological evaluations consistently showed cartilage formation over the medical implants with the maintenance of dimensional stability. An initial cell density was determined that is critical for the production of matrix components such as glycosaminoglycans (GAG), elastin, type II collagen, and for mechanical strength. This study shows that engineered cartilage tissues are able to serve as a shell that entirely covers the medical implant, which may minimize the morbidity associated with implant dislodgement.
软骨组织通常是耳组织重建所必需的。目前，临床上正在使用由硅和聚乙烯组成的全合成耳形医用植入物。然而，这些植入物的使用常常与炎症、感染、侵蚀和移位等并发症相关。为了克服这些限制，我们提出了一个系统，其中组织工程软骨作为外壳，完全覆盖全合成植入物。本研究探讨了用软骨细胞和纤维蛋白水凝胶构建的软骨组织是否能够为商业上使用的医用植入物提供足够的覆盖。为了证明细胞-纤维蛋白构建体的体内稳定性，我们测试了纤维蛋白原和凝血酶浓度以及细胞密度的变化。植入后，通过组织学和免疫组织化学、生物化学和力学分析来评估回收的工程化软骨组织。组织形态学评估一致显示，在医用植入物上形成了软骨，同时保持了尺寸稳定性。确定了一个初始细胞密度，对于产生糖胺聚糖（GAG）、弹性蛋白、II 型胶原等基质成分以及机械强度至关重要。本研究表明，工程化软骨组织能够作为外壳，完全覆盖医用植入物，从而最大限度地减少与植入物移位相关的发病率。
