Li Yucong, Li Linlong, Li Ye, Feng Lu, Wang Bin, Wang Ming, Wang Haixing, Zhu Meiling, Yang Yongkang, Waldorff Erik I, Zhang Nianli, Viohl Ingmar, Lin Sien, Bian Liming, Lee Wayne Yuk-Wai, Li Gang
Department of Orthopaedics & Traumatology, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Bioact Mater. 2022 Oct 12;22:312-324. doi: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2022.10.010. eCollection 2023 Apr.
Functional tissue engineering strategies provide innovative approach for the repair and regeneration of damaged cartilage. Hydrogel is widely used because it could provide rapid defect filling and proper structure support, and is biocompatible for cell aggregation and matrix deposition. Efforts have been made to seek suitable scaffolds for cartilage tissue engineering. Here Alg-DA/Ac-β-CD/gelatin hydrogel was designed with the features of physical and chemical multiple crosslinking and self-healing properties. Gelation time, swelling ratio, biodegradability and biocompatibility of the hydrogels were systematically characterized, and the injectable self-healing adhesive hydrogel were demonstrated to exhibit ideal properties for cartilage repair. Furthermore, the new hydrogel design introduces a pre-gel state before photo-crosslinking, where increased viscosity and decreased fluidity allow the gel to remain in a semi-solid condition. This granted multiple administration routes to the hydrogels, which brings hydrogels the ability to adapt to complex clinical situations. Pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) have been recognized as a promising solution to various health problems owing to their noninvasive properties and therapeutic potentials. PEMF treatment offers a better clinical outcome with fewer, if any, side effects, and wildly used in musculoskeletal tissue repair. Thereby we propose PEMF as an effective biophysical stimulation to be 4th key element in cartilage tissue engineering. In this study, the as-prepared Alg-DA/Ac-β-CD/gelatin hydrogels were utilized in the rat osteochondral defect model, and the potential application of PEMF in cartilage tissue engineering were investigated. PEMF treatment were proven to enhance the quality of engineered chondrogenic constructs , and facilitate chondrogenesis and cartilage repair . All of the results suggested that with the injectable self-healing adhesive hydrogel and PEMF treatment, this newly proposed tissue engineering strategy revealed superior clinical potential for cartilage defect treatment.
功能性组织工程策略为受损软骨的修复和再生提供了创新方法。水凝胶被广泛应用，因为它能快速填充缺损并提供合适的结构支撑，且具有生物相容性，利于细胞聚集和基质沉积。人们一直在努力寻找适合软骨组织工程的支架材料。在此，设计了具有物理和化学多重交联以及自愈特性的Alg-DA/Ac-β-CD/明胶水凝胶。系统地表征了水凝胶的凝胶化时间、溶胀率、生物降解性和生物相容性，并证明这种可注射的自愈粘性水凝胶具有理想的软骨修复性能。此外，这种新型水凝胶设计在光交联之前引入了预凝胶状态，此时粘度增加、流动性降低，使凝胶保持半固体状态。这赋予了水凝胶多种给药途径，使其能够适应复杂的临床情况。脉冲电磁场（PEMF）因其无创性和治疗潜力，已被认为是解决各种健康问题的一种有前景的方法。PEMF治疗副作用较少（如果有的话），能带来更好的临床效果，广泛应用于肌肉骨骼组织修复。因此，我们提出将PEMF作为一种有效的生物物理刺激，作为软骨组织工程的第四个关键要素。在本研究中，将制备好的Alg-DA/Ac-β-CD/明胶水凝胶应用于大鼠骨软骨缺损模型，研究了PEMF在软骨组织工程中的潜在应用。结果证明，PEMF治疗可提高工程化软骨构建体的质量，促进软骨生成和软骨修复。所有结果表明，结合可注射的自愈粘性水凝胶和PEMF治疗，这种新提出的组织工程策略在软骨缺损治疗方面显示出卓越的临床潜力。
