3D bioprinted hydrogel/polymer scaffold with factor delivery and mechanical support for growth plate injury repair

Minjie Fan; Lei Qiang; Yiwei Wang; Yihao Liu; Hanjie Zhuang; Ruoyi Guo; Yulong Ben; Qiang Li; Pengfei Zheng

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2023.1210786

3D bioprinted hydrogel/polymer scaffold with factor delivery and mechanical support for growth plate injury repair

Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2023 May 31:11:1210786. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1210786. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Minjie Fan¹, Lei Qiang^{1

2}, Yiwei Wang¹, Yihao Liu^{1

3}, Hanjie Zhuang¹, Ruoyi Guo¹, Yulong Ben¹, Qiang Li¹, Pengfei Zheng¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
² Key Laboratory of Advanced Technologies of Materials (MOE), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
³ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orthopaedic Implant, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

Introduction: Growth plate injury is a significant challenge in clinical practice, as it could severely affect the limb development of children, leading to limb deformity. Tissue engineering and 3D bioprinting technology have great potential in the repair and regeneration of injured growth plate, but there are still challenges associated with achieving successful repair outcomes. Methods: In this study, GelMA hydrogel containing PLGA microspheres loaded with chondrogenic factor PTH(1-34) was combined with BMSCs and Polycaprolactone (PCL) to develop the PTH(1-34)@PLGA/BMSCs/GelMA-PCL scaffold using bio-3D printing technology. Results: The scaffold exhibited a three-dimensional interconnected porous network structure, good mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and was suitable for cellchondrogenic differentiation. And a rabbit model of growth plate injury was appliedto validate the effect of scaffold on the repair of injured growth plate. The resultsshowed that the scaffold was more effective than injectable hydrogel in promotingcartilage regeneration and reducing bone bridge formation. Moreover, the addition ofPCL to the scaffold provided good mechanical support, significantly reducing limbdeformities after growth plate injury compared with directly injected hydrogel. Discussion: Accordingly, our study demonstrates the feasibility of using 3D printed scaffolds for treating growth plate injuries and could offer a new strategy for the development of growth plate tissue engineering therapy.

Keywords: 3D bioprinting scaffold; PTH(1–34); growth plate injury; mechanical support; tissue engineering.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by Jiangsu Provincial Key Research and Development Program (CN) [grant number BE2019608]; Postdoctoral Research Foundation of China (2022M721685); Jiangsu Health Commission Medical Research Program [grant number 2020158]; National Facility for Translational Medicine (Shanghai) Open Program [grant number TMSK-2021–304]; Nanjing International Science and Technology Cooperation Program; Nanjing Medical Science and Technology Development Key Program [grant number ZKX18041]; Nanjing Postdoctoral Research Funding Program.