• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• 제47권5호
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• pp.392-403
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• 2020

Severe cartilage defects and congenital anomalies affect millions of people and involve considerable medical expenses. Tissue engineering offers many advantages over conventional treatments, as therapy can be tailored to specific defects using abundant bioengineered resources. This article introduces the basic concepts of cartilage tissue engineering and reviews recent progress in the field, with a focus on craniofacial reconstruction and facial aesthetics. The basic concepts of tissue engineering consist of cells, scaffolds, and stimuli. Generally, the cartilage tissue engineering process includes the following steps: harvesting autologous chondrogenic cells, cell expansion, redifferentiation, in vitro incubation with a scaffold, and transfer to patients. Despite the promising prospects of cartilage tissue engineering, problems and challenges still exist due to certain limitations. The limited proliferation of chondrocytes and their tendency to dedifferentiate necessitate further developments in stem cell technology and chondrocyte molecular biology. Progress should be made in designing fully biocompatible scaffolds with a minimal immune response to regenerate tissue effectively

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국생물공학회 2002년도 생물공학의 동향 (X)
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• pp.48-50
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• 2002

Cartilage defects are common and painful conditions that affect people of all ages. Although many techniques have developed, none of the current available treatment options is satisfactory. Recent advances in biology and materials science have pushed tissue engineering to the forefront of new cartilage repair techniques. The purpose of this study is to determine effective regeneration method for tissue-engineered cartilage. A serum free medium was developed for cartilage tissue engineering. Chondrocyte passage number was found to influence greatly on cartilage tissue formation in vivo. Injectable, biodegradable polymer matrix was developed for chondrocyte transplantation through injection. Transplantation of chondrocytes mixed with the injectable matrices resulted in the cartilage formation in nude mice's subcutaneous sites and rabbit knees. This study may lead to the development of tissue-engineered cartilage appropriate for clinical applications.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• 제41권3호
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• pp.231-240
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• 2014

Cartilage has a limited regenerative capacity. Faced with the clinical challenge of reconstruction of cartilage defects, the field of cartilage engineering has evolved. This article reviews current concepts and strategies in cartilage engineering with an emphasis on the application of nanotechnology in the production of biomimetic cartilage regenerative scaffolds. The structural architecture and composition of the cartilage extracellular matrix and the evolution of tissue engineering concepts and scaffold technology over the last two decades are outlined. Current advances in biomimetic techniques to produce nanoscaled fibrous scaffolds, together with innovative methods to improve scaffold biofunctionality with bioactive cues are highlighted. To date, the majority of research into cartilage regeneration has been focused on articular cartilage due to the high prevalence of large joint osteoarthritis in an increasingly aging population. Nevertheless, the principles and advances are applicable to cartilage engineering for plastic and reconstructive surgery.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제16권10호
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• pp.1577-1582
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• 2006

Cartilage tissue engineering has emerged as an alternative approach for reconstruction or repair of injured cartilage tissues. In this study, rabbit chondrocytes were cultured in a three-dimensional environment to fabricate a new cartilaginous tissue with the application of tissue engineering strategies based on biodegradable PLGA microspheres. Chondrocytes were seeded on PLGA microspheres and cultured on a rocking platform for 5 weeks. The PLGA microspheres provided more surface area to adhere chondrocytes compared with PLGA sponge scaffolds. The novel system facilitated uniform distribution of the cells on the whole of the PLGA microspheres, thus forming a new cartilaginous construct at 4 weeks of culture. The histological and immunohistochemical analyses verified that the number of chondrocytes and the amount of extracellular matrix components such as proteoglycans and type II collagen were significantly greater on the PLGA microspheres constructs as compared with those on the PLGA sponge scaffolds. Therefore, PLGA microspheres enhanced the function of chondrocytes compared with PLGA sponge scaffolds, and thus might be useful for formation of cartilage tissue in vitro.

• Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
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• 제15권6호
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• pp.673-697
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• 2018

BACKGROUND: Cartilage tissue engineering (CTE) aims to obtain a structure mimicking native cartilage tissue through the combination of relevant cells, three-dimensional scaffolds, and extraneous signals. Implantation of 'matured' constructs is thus expected to provide solution for treating large injury of articular cartilage. Type I collagen is widely used as scaffolds for CTE products undergoing clinical trial, owing to its ubiquitous biocompatibility and vast clinical approval. However, the long-term performance of pure type I collagen scaffolds would suffer from its limited chondrogenic capacity and inferior mechanical properties. This paper aims to provide insights necessary for advancing type I collagen scaffolds in the CTE applications. METHODS: Initially, the interactions of type I/II collagen with CTE-relevant cells [i.e., articular chondrocytes (ACs) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)] are discussed. Next, the physical features and chemical composition of the scaffolds crucial to support chondrogenic activities of AC and MSC are highlighted. Attempts to optimize the collagen scaffolds by blending with natural/synthetic polymers are described. Hybrid strategy in which collagen and structural polymers are combined in non-blending manner is detailed. RESULTS: Type I collagen is sufficient to support cellular activities of ACs and MSCs; however it shows limited chondrogenic performance than type II collagen. Nonetheless, type I collagen is the clinically feasible option since type II collagen shows arthritogenic potency. Physical features of scaffolds such as internal structure, pore size, stiffness, etc. are shown to be crucial in influencing the differentiation fate and secreting extracellular matrixes from ACs and MSCs. Collagen can be blended with native or synthetic polymer to improve the mechanical and bioactivities of final composites. However, the versatility of blending strategy is limited due to denaturation of type I collagen at harsh processing condition. Hybrid strategy is successful in maximizing bioactivity of collagen scaffolds and mechanical robustness of structural polymer. CONCLUSION: Considering the previous improvements of physical and compositional properties of collagen scaffolds and recent manufacturing developments of structural polymer, it is concluded that hybrid strategy is a promising approach to advance further collagen-based scaffolds in CTE.

• 한국임상수의학회지
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• 제28권5호
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• pp.486-496
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• 2011

조직공학적 인공연골재생에 대한 관심이 증가함에 따라 많은 연구들이 활발히 수행되고 있으나 임상적인 적용의 한계를 극복하기위한 고효능을 보유한 양질의 연골조직생산의 필요성이 증가되고 있다. 인공연골은 자연연골과는 달리 '연골막(perichondrium)'을 포함하고 있지 않기 때문에 장기간 생체 내에 삽입된 후에 서서히 흡수 또는 변형으로 임상적 활용에 한계가 있다고 있다. 이에 본 연구는 양질의 연골조직생산을 목적으로, 세포판 제작기법(cell sheet engineering technique) 을 기반으로 한 인체유래의 배양 연골막(cultured perichondrium)을 이용하여 만든 인공연골막 세포판(cultured perichondrial cell sheet)의 생체 내 특성을 비교 분석하고, 배양된 연골막을 피복하여 고효능화를 유도한 인공연골복합체의 생체내 재생효능 및 조직특성을 비교 평가하고자 하였다. 본 연구에서는 Athymic nude mouse의 피하이식모델(study 1, n = 12)을 이용하여 담체로 hydrogel을 이용한 배양연골막 복합체의 생체내 효능을 분석하였고, 중대형동물의 대량연골 결손시의 재생효능을 평가하기 위하여 개의 무릎연골에 $1{\times}2cm$의 대량연골 결손모델(study 2, n = 12)을 통하여 인공배양세포판을 이식하였다. 이식12주 후 이식편을 회수하여 생화학, 분자생물학 및 면역조직학 분석을 시행한 결과, 배양연골막 복합체의 생체내 효능이 단독이식군에 비해 변형이나 과증식 없이 우수한 결과를 나타내었다. 본 연구의 결과로 토대로 배양연골막을 피복한 인공연골막의 관절내 효과를 규명하여 실제 임상적용을 조기화하는 기반을 제공하고 인공연골의 문제점이었던 변형과 흡수를 줄인 고효능 인공연골 제작기법을 제공하는데 유용할 것으로 기대된다.

• 대한의용생체공학회:의공학회지
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• 제26권1호
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• pp.37-42
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• 2005

We construct and test the polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) system for imaging porcine and human articular cartilages. PS-OCT is a new imaging technology that provides information regarding not only the tissue structures but tissue components that show birefringence such as collagen. In this study, we measure the cartilage thickness of the porcine joint and the phase retardation due to collagen birefringence. Also, we demonstrate that changes of the collagen fiber orientation could be detected by the PS-OCT system. Finally, differences between normal and damaged human articular cartilage are observed using the PS-OCT system, which is then compared with the regular histology pictures. As a result, the PS-OCT system is proven to be effective for diagnosis of the pathology related to the cartilage. In the future, this technology may be used for discrimination of the collagen types. When combined with endoscope technologies, the PS-OCT images may become a useful tool for in vivo tissue testing.

• Biomaterials and Biomechanics in Bioengineering
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• 제1권3호
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• pp.151-162
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• 2014

Genetically-modified mesenchymal stem cells (GM-MSCs) have emerged as promising therapeutic tools for orthopedic degenerative diseases. GM-MSCs have been widely reported that they are able to increase bone and cartilage tissue regeneration not only by secreting transgene products such as growth factors in a long-term manner, also by inducing MSCs into tissue-specific cells. For example, MSCs modified with BMP-2 gene increased secretion of BMP-2 protein resulting in enhancement of bone regeneration, while MSCs with TGF-b gene did cartilage regeneration. In this review, we introduce several growth factors for gene delivery to MSCs and strategies for bone and cartilage tissue regeneration using GM-MSCs. Furthermore, we describe strategies for strengthening GM-MSCs to more intensively induce tissue regeneration by co-delivery system of multiple genes.

• 대한의용생체공학회:의공학회지
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• 제28권2호
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• pp.169-173
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• 2007

During laser irradiation, mechanically deformed cartilage undergoes a temperature dependent phase transformation resulting in accelerated stress relaxation. Clinically, laser-assisted cartilage reshaping may be used to recreate the underlying cartilaginous framework in structures such as ear, larynx, trachea, and nose. Therefore, research and identification of the biophysical transformations in cartilage accompanying laser heating are valuable to identify critical laser dosimetry and phase transformation of cartilage for many clinical applications. quasi-elastic light scattering was investigated using Ho : YAG laser $(\lambda=2.12{\mu}m\;;\;t_p\sim450{\mu}s)$ and Nd:YAG Laser $(\lambda=1.32{\mu}m\;;\;t_p\sim700{\mu}s)$ for heating sources and He : Ne $(\lambda=632.8nm)$ laser, high-power diode pumped laser $(\lambda=532nm)$, and Ti : $Al_2O_3$ femtosecond laser $(\lambda=850nm)$ for light scattering sources. A spectrometer and infrared radiometric sensor were used to monitor the backscattered light spectrum and transient temperature changes from cartilage following laser irradiation. Analysis of the optical, thermal, and quasi-elastic light scattering properties may indicate internal dynamics of proteoglycan movement within the cartilage framework during laser irradiation.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• 제32권5호
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• pp.599-606
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• 2005

Clinical application of the cartilage formed by tissue engineering is of no practical use due to the failure of long-term structural integrity maintenance. One of the important factors for integrity maintenance is the biomaterial for a scaffold. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the difference between polylactic-co-glycolic acids (PLGA) and chitosan as scaffolds. Human auricular chondrocytes were isolated, cultured, and seeded on the scaffolds, which were implanted in the back of nude mice. Eight animals were sacrificed at 4, 8, 12, 16, and 24 weeks after implantation respectively. In gross examination and histological findings, the volume of chondrocyte-PLGA complexes was decreased rapidly. The volume of chondrocyte-chitosan complexes was well maintained with a slow decrease rate. The expression of type II collagen protein detected by immunohistochemistry and western blots became weaker with time in the chondrocyte-PLGA complexes. However, the expression in the chondrocyte-chitosan complexes was strong for the whole period. Collagen type II gene expressions using RT-PCR showed a similar pattern. In conclusion, these results suggest that chitosan is a superior scaffold in cartilage tissue engineering in terms of structural integrity maintenance. It is expected that chitosan scaffold may become one of the most useful scaffolds for cartilage tissue engineering.