Chondrogenic Commitment of Human Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells in a Perfused Collagen Hydrogel Functionalized with hTGF-β1-Releasing PLGA Microcarrier
Erwin Pavel Lamparelli,
Joseph Lovecchio,
Maria Camilla Ciardulli,
Valentina Giudice,
Tina P. Dale,
Carmine Selleri,
Nicholas Forsyth,
Emanuele Giordano,
Nicola Maffulli,
Giovanna Della Porta
Affiliations
Erwin Pavel Lamparelli
Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Salerno, via S. Allende, 84081 Baronissi, SA, Italy
Joseph Lovecchio
Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering “Guglielmo Marconi” (DEI), University of Bologna, via dell’Università 50, 47522 Cesena, FC, Italy
Maria Camilla Ciardulli
Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Salerno, via S. Allende, 84081 Baronissi, SA, Italy
Valentina Giudice
Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Salerno, via S. Allende, 84081 Baronissi, SA, Italy
Tina P. Dale
Guy Hilton Research Centre, School of Pharmacy and Bioengineering, Keele University, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST4 7QB, UK
Carmine Selleri
Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Salerno, via S. Allende, 84081 Baronissi, SA, Italy
Nicholas Forsyth
Guy Hilton Research Centre, School of Pharmacy and Bioengineering, Keele University, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST4 7QB, UK
Emanuele Giordano
Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering “Guglielmo Marconi” (DEI), University of Bologna, via dell’Università 50, 47522 Cesena, FC, Italy
Nicola Maffulli
Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Salerno, via S. Allende, 84081 Baronissi, SA, Italy
Giovanna Della Porta
Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Salerno, via S. Allende, 84081 Baronissi, SA, Italy
Tissue engineering strategies can be relevant for cartilage repair and regeneration. A collagen matrix was functionalized with the addition of poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid microcarriers (PLGA-MCs) carrying a human Transforming Growth Factor β1 (hTFG-β1) payload, to provide a 3D biomimetic environment with the capacity to direct stem cell commitment towards a chondrogenic phenotype. PLGA-MCs (mean size 3 ± 0.9 μm) were prepared via supercritical emulsion extraction technology and tailored to sustain delivery of payload into the collagen hydrogel for 21 days. PLGA-MCs were coseeded with human Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells (hBM-MSCs) in the collagen matrix. Chondrogenic induction was suggested when dynamic perfusion was applied as indicated by transcriptional upregulation of COL2A1 gene (5-fold; p p p p p < 0.01 at Day 16) confirming the cells’ immunomodulatory activity mainly in relation to their commitment and not due to the synthetic environment. This study supports the use of 3D hydrogel scaffolds, equipped for growth factor controlled delivery, as tissue engineered models for the study of in vitro chondrogenic differentiation and opens clinical perspectives for injectable collagen-based advanced therapy systems.
