Table 3.
In vivo studies for repair of cartilage defects using constructs composed of nanofibers and stem cells
| Host | Cells source | Cells type | Biomaterials | Stimulating factors | Results | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pig | Bone Marrow | Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) | Hyaluronate/type I collagen/fibrin composite Scaffold containing polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers and | FGF-2 and Insulin | The cell-free composite scaffold improved migration of the bone marrow stem cells into the defect, and their differentiation into chondrocytes and also enhanced the regeneration of osteochondral defects towards hyaline cartilage and/or fibrocartilage in contrast to control cases that were left untreated and were filled with fibrous tissue | (1) |
| Rabbit | Bone Marrow | MSCs | Collagen and Polyl-Lactic Acid (PLA) | - | Compared with collagen scaffold, implantation of collagen-nanofiber scaffold seeded with cells induced more rapid subchondral bone appearance, and better cartilage development, which led to better functional repair of deep osteochondral defects in rabbits | (2) |
| Rabbit | Bone Marrow | MSCs | PVA/ poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) nanofiber (PVA/PCL) | - | A high similarity in ECM patterns between regenerated tissue in the group which received cell-seeded scaffold and normal tissues was observed. Also, the production of collagen type II in these groups was high compared to other groups | (3) |
| Rat | - | - | Poly (Vinyl Alcohol) - methacrylate (PVA-MA) and Chondroitin Sulfate (CS) | - | CS fibers combined with PVA fibers induced statistically higher type II collagen production compared with the PVA fibers alone and empty defects | (7) |
| Swine | Articular Cartilage | Allogeneic Chondrocytes | PCL | - | In contrast to acellular constructs and the no-implant control groups, MSC-seeded scaffolds renewed hyaline cartilage-like tissue and restored a smooth cartilage surface. In addition, the chondrocyte-seeded scaffolds produced fibrocartilage-like tissue with an irregular superficial cartilage contour | (72) |
| Human | Bone marrow | Xenogeneic MSC | ||||
| Rabbit | - | - | PCL with Chitosan | TGF-B1, Ascorbate-2-phosphate | Cartilage formation and production of sGAG in the uncoated scaffolds increased at the end of implantation time compared to chitosan-coated scaffolds. Also, significantly more mineral dep osition was detected inTGF-β1-injected and uncoated scaffolds compared to vehicle-injected and coated scaffolds | (73) |
| Rabbit | Bone Marrow | MSCs | oriented poly (L-lactic acid)-copoly (e-caprolactone) P(LLA-CL) yarn collagenI/hyaluronate hybrid scaffold (Yarn-CH) as a chondral phase and Porous beta-TCP as a osseous phase | TGF-B1, Dexamethasone, Ascorbate-2-phosphate,L-proline, Sodium pyruvate, ITS+1 Premix | In differentiated MSCs/YarnCH/TCP and MSCs/CH/TCP biphasic scaffold groups, the regenerated defects almost completely full with hyaline-like repaired tissue appeared to be integrated with the surrounding tissues. In undifferentiated MSCs/YarnCH/TCP and MSCs/CH/TCP biphasic scaffold groups, defects were covered by rough tissue with irregular surfaces which were clearly distinguishable from the normal cartilage. Furthermore, immunohistochemical staining showed high level of collagen type II in the BMSCs/YarnCH/TCP biphasic scaffold groups than in the other groups | (76) |
| Rabbit | - | - | porous hydroxyapatite/collagen (HAp/Col) scaffold | FGF-2 | Abundant bone formation was observed in the HAp/Col implanted groups as compared to the control group. Furthermore, HAp/Col impregnated with FGF-2 displayed not only abundant bone regeneration but also the most satisfactory cartilage regeneration, with cartilage presenting a hyaline-like appearance | (78) |