A potential use of collagen-hyaluronan-chondroitin sulfate tri-copolymer scaffold for cartilage tissue engineering

Objective: To evaluate collagen(Col)-hyaluronan (HA)-chondroitin sulfate (CS) tri-copolymer as a new biomimetic biodegradable polymer scaffold for application of the articular cartilage tissue engineering.

Methods: The Col-HA-CS tri-copolymer was prepared by freezing and lyophilization and was cross-linked by 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethy inaminoproyl) carbodiimide (EDC). The morphological characteristics of the matrices were evaluated by the SME and HE stainings. The rabbit chondrocytes were isolated and seeded in the tri-copolymer scaffold. Morphology, proliferation and differentiation of glycosaminoglycan (GAG), and phenotypic expression of the rabbit articular chondrocytes cultured within the tri-copolymer scaffold were indicated by the histological examination, SEM, biochemical analysis, and reverse transcriptase PCR for collagen type II (Col II).

Results: The chondrocytes proliferated and differentiated well, and they preserved the phenotypic expression of Col II in the Col-HA-CS scaffold. After the 21-day cell culture within the Col-HA-CS scaffolds, the cartilage-specific morphology and the structural characteristics such as lacunae appeared, and DNA and GAG contents increased with the time. In addition, DNA and GAG contents were significantly higher in the Col-HA-CS matrix than in the collagen matrix alone (P < 0.05).

Conclusions: These results show that the Col-HA-CS tri-copolymer matrices can provide an appropriate environment for the generation of cartilage-like tissues and have a potential application in the cartilage tissue engineering scaffold field.