Razi Journal of Medical Sciences

Background: Although the presence of articular cartilage progenitor cells is already known, but due to lack of blood supply, its ability to heal is poor. In past, tissue engineering approaches has been mainly focused on the collection and culture of chondrocyte cells on biodegradable scaffolds such as polyglycolic acid in vitro and their autologous transplantation. Recently, due to the difficulties in collecting these cells, research have shifted to stem cells to chondrocyte production. Biological scaffolds with good mechanical properties are important factors for tissue engineering and to provide a suitable environment for optimal growth and differentiation of stem cells. In this study, the efficacy of three scaffolds including alginate, poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) and fibrin glue (FG) in creation of the perfect environment for the growth and differentiation of mesenchymal stem was evaluated.

Methods: In this study, the alginate and PLGA and FG scaffolds were prepared and mesenchymal stem cells were isolated from adipose tissue. Then, these cells were cultured and differentiated on the three scaffolds, separately. After 2 weeks, chondrogenic gene expression analysis was performed for each scaffold by Real time PCR.

Results: The results of this study showed that the highest expression of chondrogenic genes was in the FG compared to other scaffolds.

Conclusion: It was seen that natural scaffolds have a huge potential for appropriate growth and differentiation of cells.