The articular cartilage is an avascular and aneural tissue and its injuries result mostly in osteoarthritic changes and formation of fibrous tissue. Efforts of scientists worldwide are focused on restoration of cartilage with increase in life quality of patients. Novel polymeric polyhydroxybutyrate/chitosan (PCH) porous 3D scaffolds were developed and characterized. The rat mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were seeded in vitro on PCH scaffolds by a simple filtration of MSCs suspension over scaffolds using syringe. The chondrogenesis of cell-scaffold constructs was carried out in supplemented chondrogenic cultivation medium. After 2 and 4 weeks of in vitro culturing cell-scaffold constructs in chondrogenic differentiation medium, the cartilage extracellular matrix components like glycosaminoglycans and collagens were identified in scaffolds by biochemical assays and histological and immunohistochemical staining. Preliminary in vivo experiments with acellular scaffolds, which filled the artificially created cartilage defect in sheep knee were done and evaluated. Cells released from the bone marrow cavity have penetrated into acellular PCH scaffold in cartilage defect and induced tissue formation similar to hyaline cartilage. The results demonstrated that PCH scaffolds supported chondrogenic differentiation of MSCs in vitro. Acellular PCH scaffolds were successfully utilized in vivo for reparation of artificially created knee cartilage defects in sheep and supported wound healing and formation of hyaline cartilage-like tissue.
Keywords: Chitosan; Chondrogenesis; In vitro; In vivo; Mesenchymal stem cells; Polyhydroxybutyrate.