Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.
Sci Rep. 2019 Jun 18;9(1):8719. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-44855-3.
Meniscal tears have a poor healing capacity, and damage to the meniscus is associated with significant pain, disability, and progressive degenerative changes in the knee joint that lead to osteoarthritis. Therefore, strategies to promote meniscus repair and improve meniscus function are needed. The objective of this study was to generate porcine meniscus-derived matrix (MDM) scaffolds and test their effectiveness in promoting meniscus repair via migration of endogenous meniscus cells from the surrounding meniscus or exogenously seeded human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Both endogenous meniscal cells and MSCs infiltrated the MDM scaffolds. In the absence of exogenous cells, the 8% MDM scaffolds promoted the integrative repair of an in vitro meniscal defect. Dehydrothermal crosslinking and concentration of the MDM influenced the biochemical content and shear strength of repair, demonstrating that the MDM can be tailored to promote tissue repair. These findings indicate that native meniscus cells can enhance meniscus healing if a scaffold is provided that promotes cellular infiltration and tissue growth. The high affinity of cells for the MDM and the ability to remodel the scaffold reveals the potential of MDM to integrate with native meniscal tissue to promote long-term repair without necessarily requiring exogenous cells.
半月板撕裂的愈合能力较差，半月板损伤与膝关节的严重疼痛、功能障碍以及进行性退行性改变有关，这些改变最终会导致骨关节炎。因此，需要采用一些策略来促进半月板修复并改善半月板功能。本研究的目的是制备猪半月板衍生基质（MDM）支架，并通过来自周围半月板的内源性半月板细胞或体外接种的人骨髓间充质干细胞（MSCs）的迁移来测试其促进半月板修复的效果。内源性半月板细胞和 MSCs 均渗透到 MDM 支架中。在没有外源性细胞的情况下，8%的 MDM 支架促进了体外半月板缺损的整合性修复。去水热交联和 MDM 的浓缩影响了修复的生化含量和剪切强度，表明可以对 MDM 进行定制以促进组织修复。这些发现表明，如果提供促进细胞渗透和组织生长的支架，那么内源性半月板细胞可以增强半月板愈合。细胞对 MDM 的高亲和力以及重塑支架的能力揭示了 MDM 与天然半月板组织整合以促进长期修复的潜力，而不一定需要外源性细胞。
