Regeneration of Hyaline Cartilage Using a Mechanically-Tuned Chondrocyte-Seeded Biomimetic Tissue-Engineered 3D Scaffold: A Theoretical Approach

Abstract

The limited ability of cartilage tissue to repair itself poses a functionally impairing health problem. While many treatment methods are available, full restoration of the tissue to its original state is rare. Often, complete joint replacement surgery is required to obtain long-term relief. Tissue en-gineering approaches, however, provide new opportunities for cartilage replacement. They seek to provide mechanisms to repair or replace lost tissue or function. A theoretical method is pre-sented here for regenerating hyaline cartilage in vitro using a chondrocyte-seeded three-dimen-sional biomimetic engineered scaffold with mechanical properties similar to those occurring na-turally. The scaffold composition, type II collagen, aggrecan, hyaluronan, hyaluronan binding pro-tein (for link protein), and BMP-7, were chosen to encourage synthesis of hyaline cartilage by pro-viding a more native environment and signaling cue for the seeded chondrocytes. The scaffold components mimic the macrofibrillar collagen network found in articular cartilage. Type II colla-gen provides tensile strength, and aggrecan, the predominant proteoglycan, provides compressive strength.