Study design: Basic research.
Objective: To prepared 3 DNPM/chitosan hybrid hydrogels and chose the best DNPM/chitosan hybrid hydrogel for NP tissue engineering.
Methods: Three DNPM/chitosan hybrid hydrogels were fabricated by changing the ratio of the decellularized NP matrix to chitosan and crosslinking with genipin. NP stem cells (NPSCs) were cultured on the hybrid hydrogels and their proliferation, morphology, and gene expression were evaluated. Finally, an in vivo experiment was performed to evaluate the immune response to the hydrogels.
Results: The adhered NPSCs proliferated well on the hybrid hydrogel. The gene expression of NP-related collagen type II, aggrecan, and Sox-9 from NPSCs cultured on DNPM/chitosan hybrid hydrogel-1 was greater than from cells cultured on DNPM/chitosan hybrid hydrogel-2 and DNPM/chitosan hybrid hydrogel-3. Few inflammatory cells were observed during the in vivo experiment with DNPM/chitosan hybrid hydrogel-1.
Conclusions: DNPM/chitosan hybrid hydrogel-1 is a potential candidate scaffold for NP tissue engineering.
Keywords: chitosan; decellularized nucleus pulposus matrix; gene expression; genipin; nucleus pulposus stem cells.