Figure 7.

Synthetic 3D printed + 3D bioprinted composite scaffolds. (a) Schematic illustration of bioprinted protein-releasing mesenchymal stem cells (MSC)-laden hydrogel-PCL composite constructs for meniscus regeneration in goats. (b) 3D-bioprinted meniscus scaffold for implantation (f). Schematic illustration of MSC cell-laden hydrogel encapsulating PLGA microparticles carrying CTGF (blue box) or TGFβ3 (yellow box) in different regions, between PCL fibers; printing occurred from different syringes; (H–I) SEM images of PLGA μS showing a less than 5 μm diameter for CTGF (h) and TGFβ3 (i) respectively. (c) Regeneration of the goat meniscus at 24 weeks after implantation. Zonal matrix phenotype analysis in engineered versus native tissue. Tissue sections were stained by immunohistochemistry for collagen type I and II (COL-I and -II) presence or by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) for cells distribution and tissue integrity; toluidine blue (TB) staining occurred for assessment of proteoglycans deposition while picrosirius red (PR) for COLI and COLIII verification. Histological evaluation of the regenerated meniscus in the CTGF & TGFβ3 group revealed matrix phenotypes and distribution resembling those in the native tissue.

Source: Adapted and reprinted with permission from Sun et al. ¹³⁶ Copyright 2019 Elsevier.