Hierarchical porous ECM scaffolds incorporating GDF-5 fabricated by cryogenic 3D printing to promote articular cartilage regeneration

Abstract

Background: In recent years, there has been significant research progress on in situ articular cartilage (AC) tissue engineering with endogenous stem cells, which uses biological materials or bioactive factors to improve the regeneration microenvironment and recruit more endogenous stem cells from the joint cavity to the defect area to promote cartilage regeneration. Method: In this study, we used ECM alone as a bioink in low-temperature deposition manufacturing (LDM) 3D printing and then successfully fabricated a hierarchical porous ECM scaffold incorporating GDF-5. Results: Comparative in vitro experiments showed that the 7% ECM scaffolds had the best biocompatibility. After the addition of GDF-5 protein, the ECM scaffolds significantly improved bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) migration and chondrogenic differentiation. Most importantly, the in vivo results showed that the ECM/GDF-5 scaffold significantly enhanced in situ cartilage repair. Conclusion: In conclusion, this study reports the construction of a new scaffold based on the concept of in situ regeneration, and we believe that our findings will provide a new treatment strategy for AC defect repair.