There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.
Abstract
An ideal scaffold that provides a combination of suitable mechanical properties along
with biological signals is required for successful ligament/tendon regeneration in
mesenchymal stem cell-based tissue engineering strategies. Among the various fibre-based
scaffolds that have been used, hybrid fibrous scaffolds comprising both microfibres
and nanofibres have been recently shown to be particularly promising. This study developed
a biohybrid fibrous scaffold system by coating bioactive bFGF-releasing ultrafine
PLGA fibres over mechanically robust slowly-degrading degummed knitted microfibrous
silk scaffolds. On the ECM-like biomimetic architecture of ultrafine fibres, sustained
release of bFGF mimicked the ECM in function, initially stimulating mesenchymal progenitor
cell (MPC) proliferation, and subsequently, their tenogeneic differentiation. The
biohybrid scaffold system not only facilitated MPC attachment and promoted cell proliferation,
with cells growing both on ultrafine PLGA fibres and silk microfibres, but also stimulated
tenogeneic differentiation of seeded MPCs. Upregulated gene expression of ligament/tendon-specific
ECM proteins and increased collagen production likely contributed to enhancing mechanical
properties of the constructs, generating a ligament/tendon analogue that has the potential
to be used to repair injured ligaments/tendons.
Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.