Effect of chondroitin sulphate C on the<i>in vitro</i>and<i>in vivo</i>chondrogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells in crosslinked type II collagen scaffolds

Abstract

This study evaluates the crosslinkage effect of chondroitin sulphate C (CSC) and type II collagen (COL II) on chondrogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in vitro and in vivo. In the in vitro studies, our results show that the weight ratio CSC:COL II that reaches 1.2:100 (CSC1.2/100 -COL II scaffold) can provide an optimal microenvironment for MSC chondrogenesis. When MSCs are cultured in this CSC1.2/100 -COL II scaffold, the chondrogenic gene expression of cultured cells is upregulated, while the osteogenic gene expression of these is downregulated. In addition, MSCs cultivated in the CSC1.2/100 -COL II scaffold are found to express the highest glycosaminoglycans:DNA ratio as compared to those in scaffolds of other CSC:COL II ratios. Histological and immunohistological evidence also supports the result. In the in vivo study, our results show that MSCs cultivated in the CSC1.2/100 -COL II scaffold demonstrate a better repair ability on cartilage lesions than does the COL II scaffold. After 1 month in vivo, the injected MSCs in the CSC1.2/100 -COL II scaffold show lacuna structures and stimulate the formation of type II collagen at the defective sites. Six months after transplantation, the generated cells in the CSC1.2/100 -COL II group show higher gene expressions of type II collagen and aggrecan but lower gene expression of type I collagen at the defective sites than those in the COL II group. The results strongly suggest that CSC1.2/100 -COL II scaffold can serve as a potential candidate for cartilage repair and improve the chondrogenesis of MSCs in general.