Injectable hyaluronic acid carrying autologous chondrocytes repairs cartilage defects / 中国组织工程研究

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: In the cartilage tissue engineering materials, hyaluronic acid as the representative of polysaccharide materials has good material-cell interface that is beneficial to the growth of chondrocytes, which has become a hot research topic in recent years. OBJECTIVE: To explore the feasibility of injectable hyaluronic acid material loaded with chondrocytes to repair cartilage defects in rats. METHODS: Ninety Sprague-Dawley rats were selected to prepare a cartilage defect model, and they were randomly divided into three groups at the 2nd day after modeling. The experimental group was injected hyaluronic acid hydrogel loaded with chondrocytes into the articular cavity, the control group was injected with hyaluronic acid hydrogel into the articular cavity, and the blank control group received no intervention. At 1, 3 and 6 weeks after injection, the repaired cartilage tissues were taken out for hematoxylin eosin staining, Masson staining, and scanning electron microscope observation, and the expression of heme oxygenase and level of collagen were detected.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) Hematoxylin eosin staining at 6 weeks after injection, granulation tissues filled the repair area in the blank control group. The control group was full of yellowish white tissues in the repair area, with distinct boundary with the normal cartilage, the surface was not smooth and the lymphocytes were reduced compared with those at 3 weeks. Repair tissue of the experimental group was semi-transparent and showed a fuzzy boundary with the normal cartilage, and moreover, lymphocyte was significantly reduced compared with those at 3 weeks. (2) Masson staining at 6 weeks after injection, collagen fiber synthesis in the repair area in the experimental group was the best, successively followed by the control group and the blank control group. (3) Scanning electron microscope observation at 6 weeks after injection, collagen fiber arrangement in the repair area was irregular and partially broken in the blank control group, and the arrangement became more orderly in the control group but still partially broken. The collagen fibers in the experimental group were arranged orderly, and the boundary with normal cartilage was unclear. (4) Expression of heme oxygenase and level of collagen at 6 weeks after injection, the expression of heme oxygenase in the experimental group was higher than that in the control group and blank control group (P < 0.05). The levels of collagen in the experimental group at 1, 3 and 6 weeks after injection were higher than those in the control group and the blank control group (P < 0.05). To conclude, hyaluronic acid injectable material loaded with chondrocytes can promote the repair of cartilage defects in rats.