J Korean Soc Plast Reconstr Surg.  2005 Sep;32(5):599-606.

The Comparative Study between PLGA and Chitosan Scaffolds for Cartilage Tissue Engineering

• Lee YJ
• Chung HY
• Shin DP
• Kim JY
• Yang JD
• Lee DG
• Park JW
• Cho BC
• Baik BS

Abstract

Clinical application of the cartilage formed by tissue engineering is of no practical use due to the failure of long-term structural integrity maintenance. One of the important factors for integrity maintenance is the biomaterial for a scaffold. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the difference between polylactic-co-glycolic acids (PLGA) and chitosan as scaffolds. Human auricular chondrocytes were isolated, cultured, and seeded on the scaffolds, which were implanted in the back of nude mice. Eight animals were sacrificed at 4, 8, 12, 16, and 24 weeks after implantation respectively. In gross examination and histological findings, the volume of chondrocyte-PLGA complexes was decreased rapidly. The volume of chondrocyte-chitosan complexes was well maintained with a slow decrease rate. The expression of type II collagen protein detected by immunohistochemistry and western blots became weaker with time in the chondrocyte-PLGA complexes. However, the expression in the chondrocyte-chitosan complexes was strong for the whole period. Collagen type II gene expressions using RT-PCR showed a similar pattern. In conclusion, these results suggest that chitosan is a superior scaffold in cartilage tissue engineering in terms of structural integrity maintenance. It is expected that chitosan scaffold may become one of the most useful scaffolds for cartilage tissue engineering.

Keyword

PLGA; Chitosan; Scaffold; Cartilage tissue engineering

MeSH Terms

Animals
Blotting, Western
Cartilage*
Chitosan*
Chondrocytes
Collagen Type II
Gene Expression
Humans
Immunohistochemistry
Mice
Mice, Nude
Tissue Engineering*
Chitosan
Collagen Type II