The effective and long-term treatment of cartilage defects is an unmet need among patients worldwide. In the past, several synthetic and natural biomaterials have been designed to support functional articular cartilage formation. However, they have mostly failed to enhance the terminal stage of chondrogenic differentiation, leading to scar tissue formation after the operation. Growth factors substantially regulate cartilage regeneration by acting on receptors to trigger intracellular signaling and cell recruitment for tissue regeneration. In this study, we investigated the effect of recombinant insulin-like growth factor 1 (rIGF-1), loaded in fibrin microbeads (FibIGF1), on cartilage regeneration. rIGF-1-loaded fibrin microbeads were injected into full-thickness cartilage defects in the knees of goats. The stability, integration, and quality of tissue repair were evaluated at 1 and 6 months by gross morphology, histology, and collagen type II staining. The in vivo results showed that compared to plain fibrin samples, particularly at 6 months, FibIGF1 improved the functional cartilage formation, confirmed through gross morphology, histology, and collagen type II immunostaining. FibIGF1 could be a promising candidate for cartilage repair in the clinic.
Keywords: articular cartilage; fibrin; functional tissue regeneration; insulin-like growth factor 1.