Journal
REGENERATIVE MEDICINE
Volume 9, Issue 3, Pages 309-326Publisher
FUTURE MEDICINE LTD
DOI: 10.2217/RME.14.5
Keywords
fibrinogen-hyaluronan conjugate; hydrogel; intervertebral disc; nucleus pulposus; regeneration
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Aim: To develop a biomimetic polymeric injectable hydrogel that can support nucleus pulposus (NP) regeneration. Materials & methods: Natural polymer-based hydrogels were synthesized using fibrinogen (FBG) and hyaluronic acid (HA), conjugated by a novel two-step procedure. Bovine NP cells were cultured in FBG-HA conjugate-based 3D beads in vitro and in a nucleotomized organ culture model. Results: FBG-HA conjugate-based hydrogels prepared with 235 KDa HA at a FBG/HA w/w ratio of 17: 1 showed superior gel stability and mechanical properties and markedly increased glycosaminoglycan synthesis compared with a FBG/HA mixture-based hydrogels or fibrin gels. Gene-expression levels of NP markers were maintained in vitro. In organ culture, NP cells seeded in FBG-HA conjugate-based hydrogels showed better integration with native NP tissue compared with fibrin gels. Moreover, FBG-HA conjugate-based hydrogels restored compressive stiffness and disc height after nucleotomy under dynamic load. Conclusion: Specific FBG-HA conjugate-based hydrogels may be suitable as injectable materials for minimally invasive, biological NP regeneration.
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