ABSTRACT
Increasing incidence of musculoskeletal injuries coupled with limitations in the current treatment options have necessitated tissue engineering and regenerative medicine- based approaches. Moving forward from engineering isolated musculoskeletal tissues, research strategies are now being increasingly focused on repairing and regenerating the interfaces between dissimilar musculoskeletal tissues with the aim to achieve seamless integration of engineered musculoskeletal tissues. This article reviews the state-of-the-art in the tissue engineering of musculoskeletal tissue interfaces with a focus on Singapore's contribution in this emerging field. Various biomimetic scaffold and cellbased strategies, the use of growth factors, gene therapy and mechanical loading, as well as animal models for functional validation of the tissue engineering strategies are discussed.
Subject(s)
Humans , Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy , Genetic Therapy , Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins , Musculoskeletal Diseases , Rehabilitation , Therapeutics , Orthopedic Procedures , Methods , Osteogenesis , Regenerative Medicine , Methods , Singapore , Stem Cells , Stress, Mechanical , Tissue Engineering , Methods , Tissue Scaffolds , Weight-BearingABSTRACT
Fibre-based scaffolds have been widely used for tendon and ligament tissue engineering. Knitted scaffolds have been proved to favour collagenous matrix deposition which is crucial for tendon/ligament reconstruction. However, such scaffolds have the limitation of being dependent on a gel system for cell seeding, which is unstable in a dynamic environment such as the knee joint. This study developed three types of hybrid scaffolds, based on knitted biodegradable polyester scaffolds, aiming to improve mechanical properties and cell attachment and proliferation on the scaffolds. The hybrid scaffolds were created by coating the knitted scaffolds with a thin film of poly (epsilon-caprolactone) (group I), poly (D, L-lactide-co-glycolide) nanofibres (group II) and type 1 collagen (group III). Woven scaffolds were also fabricated and compared with the various hybrid scaffolds in terms of their mechanical properties during in vitro degradation and cell attachment and growth. This study demonstrated that the coating techniques could modulate the mechanical properties and facilitate cell attachment and proliferation in the hybrid scaffold, which could be applied with promise in tissue engineering of tendons/ligaments.
