Issue 6, 2018

Chondroinductive factor-free chondrogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells in graphene oxide-incorporated hydrogels

Abstract

Graphene-based nanomaterials have been applied as biomaterials to enhance stem cell adhesion, growth and differentiation by serving as nanocarriers for growth factors or other small molecules. However, the direct effect of graphene oxide (GO) itself on stem cells, in the absence of exogenous differentiation inductive factors, has not been tested. In this study, we loaded GO nanosheets and human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSC) into a photopolymerizable poly-D,L-lactic acid/polyethylene glycol (PDLLA) hydrogel, a robust chondrosupportive scaffold recently developed in our laboratory, and assessed hBMSC differentiation along the chondrogenic lineage without supplemental chondroinductive factors. We first examined the effect of GO incorporation on the mechanical properties of constructs, and observed that the GO-containing constructs (GO/PDLLA) exhibited enhanced compressive modulus in a GO concentration dependent manner. hBMSCs cultured in GO/PDLLA maintained high cell viability (>95%), indicating minimal cytotoxicity of GO. Importantly, compared to those encapsulated in PDLLA hydrogel, hBMSCs within GO/PDLLA showed significantly higher level of gene expression of the cartilage matrix genes, aggrecan and collagen type II, and produced more cartilage matrix. In addition, the pro-chondrogenesis effect of GO increased with increasing GO concentration. Immunohistochemical results suggested that GO-enhanced hBMSC chondrogenesis was correlated with enriched sequestration of insulin, a necessary supplement known to have pro-chondrogenesis effects on hBMSC. Taken together, these findings demonstrate the utility of using GO to improve the mechanical properties and chondrogenic differentiation state of MSC-laden, engineered hydrogel constructs, without the use of exogenous growth factors, thus representing a potentially promising, biologics-free approach for cartilage tissue engineering.

Graphical abstract: Chondroinductive factor-free chondrogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells in graphene oxide-incorporated hydrogels

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
13 ⵖⵓⵛ 2017
Accepted
25 ⴷⵓⵊ 2017
First published
16 ⵉⵏⵏ 2018

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2018,6, 908-917

Chondroinductive factor-free chondrogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells in graphene oxide-incorporated hydrogels

H. Shen, H. Lin, A. X. Sun, S. Song, Z. Zhang, J. Dai and R. S. Tuan, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2018, 6, 908 DOI: 10.1039/C7TB02172K

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements