An elastin-like recombinamer-based bioactive hydrogel embedded with mesenchymal stromal cells as an injectable scaffold for osteochondral repair.

ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to evaluate injectable, in situ cross-linkable elastin-like recombinamers (ELRs) for osteochondral repair. Both the ELR-based hydrogel alone and the ELR-based hydrogel embedded with rabbit mesenchymal stromal cells (rMSCs) were tested for the regeneration of critical subchondral defects in 10 New Zealand rabbits. Thus, cylindrical osteochondral defects were filled with an aqueous solution of ELRs and the animals sacrificed at 4 months for histological and gross evaluation of features of biomaterial performance, including integration, cellular infiltration, surrounding matrix quality and the new matrix in the defects. Although both approaches helped cartilage regeneration, the results suggest that the specific composition of the rMSC-containing hydrogel permitted a

SUBMITTER: Cipriani F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6897338 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature