TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schmidt, Stefanie
A1  - Abinzano, Florencia
A1  - Mensinga, Anneloes
A1  - Teßmar, Jörg
A1  - Groll, Jürgen
A1  - Malda, Jos
A1  - Levato, Riccardo
A1  - Blunk, Torsten
T1  - Differential production of cartilage ECM in 3D agarose constructs by equine articular cartilage progenitor cells and mesenchymal stromal cells
JF  - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
N2  - Identification of articular cartilage progenitor cells (ACPCs) has opened up new opportunities for cartilage repair. These cells may be used as alternatives for or in combination with mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in cartilage engineering. However, their potential needs to be further investigated, since only a few studies have compared ACPCs and MSCs when cultured in hydrogels. Therefore, in this study, we compared chondrogenic differentiation of equine ACPCs and MSCs in agarose constructs as monocultures and as zonally layered co-cultures under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions. ACPCs and MSCs exhibited distinctly differential production of the cartilaginous extracellular matrix (ECM). For ACPC constructs, markedly higher glycosaminoglycan (GAG) contents were determined by histological and quantitative biochemical evaluation, both in normoxia and hypoxia. Differential GAG production was also reflected in layered co-culture constructs. For both cell types, similar staining for type II collagen was detected. However, distinctly weaker staining for undesired type I collagen was observed in the ACPC constructs. For ACPCs, only very low alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, a marker of terminal differentiation, was determined, in stark contrast to what was found for MSCs. This study underscores the potential of ACPCs as a promising cell source for cartilage engineering.
KW  - ACPC
KW  - chondroprogenitors
KW  - tissue engineering
KW  - MSC
KW  - agarose
KW  - hypoxia
KW  - ECM
KW  - co-culture
KW  - zonal
KW  - cartilage
Y1  - 2020
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-236180
SN  - 1422-0067
VL  - 21
IS  - 19
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Diloksumpan, Paweena
A1  - de Ruijter, Mylène
A1  - Castilho, Miguel
A1  - Gbureck, Uwe
A1  - Vermonden, Tina
A1  - van Weeren, P René
A1  - Malda, Jos
A1  - Levato, Riccardo
T1  - Combining multi-scale 3D printing technologies to engineer reinforced hydrogel-ceramic interfaces
JF  - Biofabrication
N2  - Multi-material 3D printing technologies that resolve features at different lengths down to the microscale open new avenues for regenerative medicine, particularly in the engineering of tissue interfaces. Herein, extrusion printing of a bone-biomimetic ceramic ink and melt electrowriting (MEW) of spatially organized polymeric microfibres are integrated for the biofabrication of an osteochondral plug, with a mechanically reinforced bone-to-cartilage interface. A printable physiological temperature-setting bioceramic, based on α-tricalcium phosphate, nanohydroxyapatite and a custom-synthesized biodegradable and crosslinkable poloxamer, was developed as bone support. The mild setting reaction of the bone ink enabled us to print directly within melt electrowritten polycaprolactone meshes, preserving their micro-architecture. Ceramic-integrated MEW meshes protruded into the cartilage region of the composite plug, and were embedded with mechanically soft gelatin-based hydrogels, laden with articular cartilage chondroprogenitor cells. Such interlocking design enhanced the hydrogel-to-ceramic adhesion strength >6.5-fold, compared with non-interlocking fibre architectures, enabling structural stability during handling and surgical implantation in osteochondral defects ex vivo. Furthermore, the MEW meshes endowed the chondral compartment with compressive properties approaching those of native cartilage (20-fold reinforcement versus pristine hydrogel). The osteal and chondral compartment supported osteogenesis and cartilage matrix deposition in vitro, and the neo-synthesized cartilage matrix further contributed to the mechanical reinforcement at the ceramic-hydrogel interface. This multi-material, multi-scale 3D printing approach provides a promising strategy for engineering advanced composite constructs for the regeneration of musculoskeletal and connective tissue interfaces.
KW  - biofabrication
KW  - melt electrowriting
KW  - bioinspired interface
KW  - bone and cartilage tissue engineering
KW  - microfibres
KW  - ceramics
Y1  - 2020
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-254005
VL  - 12
IS  - 2
ER  -