3D Biomimetic Scaffold for Growth Factor Controlled Delivery: An In-Vitro Study of Tenogenic Events on Wharton’s Jelly Mesenchymal Stem Cells
Maria Camilla Ciardulli,
Joseph Lovecchio,
Pasqualina Scala,
Erwin Pavel Lamparelli,
Tina Patricia Dale,
Valentina Giudice,
Emanuele Giordano,
Carmine Selleri,
Nicholas Robert Forsyth,
Nicola Maffulli,
Giovanna Della Porta
Affiliations
Maria Camilla Ciardulli
Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Salerno, Via S. Allende, 84081 Baronissi, Italy
Joseph Lovecchio
Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering “Guglielmo Marconi” (DEI), University of Bologna, Via dell’Università 50, 47522 Cesena, Italy
Pasqualina Scala
Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Salerno, Via S. Allende, 84081 Baronissi, Italy
Erwin Pavel Lamparelli
Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Salerno, Via S. Allende, 84081 Baronissi, Italy
Tina Patricia Dale
Guy Hilton Research Centre, School of Pharmacy and Bioengineering, Keele University, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST4 7QB, UK
Valentina Giudice
Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Salerno, Via S. Allende, 84081 Baronissi, Italy
Emanuele Giordano
Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering “Guglielmo Marconi” (DEI), University of Bologna, Via dell’Università 50, 47522 Cesena, Italy
Carmine Selleri
Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Salerno, Via S. Allende, 84081 Baronissi, Italy
Nicholas Robert Forsyth
Guy Hilton Research Centre, School of Pharmacy and Bioengineering, Keele University, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST4 7QB, UK
Nicola Maffulli
Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Salerno, Via S. Allende, 84081 Baronissi, Italy
Giovanna Della Porta
Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Salerno, Via S. Allende, 84081 Baronissi, Italy
The present work described a bio-functionalized 3D fibrous construct, as an interactive teno-inductive graft model to study tenogenic potential events of human mesenchymal stem cells collected from Wharton’s Jelly (hWJ-MSCs). The 3D-biomimetic and bioresorbable scaffold was functionalized with nanocarriers for the local controlled delivery of a teno-inductive factor, i.e., the human Growth Differentiation factor 5 (hGDF-5). Significant results in terms of gene expression were obtained. Namely, the up-regulation of Scleraxis (350-fold, p ≤ 0.05), type I Collagen (8-fold), Decorin (2.5-fold), and Tenascin-C (1.3-fold) was detected at day 14; on the other hand, when hGDF-5 was supplemented in the external medium only (in absence of nanocarriers), a limited effect on gene expression was evident. Teno-inductive environment also induced pro-inflammatory, (IL-6 (1.6-fold), TNF (45-fold, p ≤ 0.001), and IL-12A (1.4-fold)), and anti-inflammatory (IL-10 (120-fold) and TGF-β1 (1.8-fold)) cytokine expression upregulation at day 14. The presented 3D construct opens perspectives for the study of drug controlled delivery devices to promote teno-regenerative events.
