Background Lubricin is chondrocyte-secreted glycoprotein that primarily conducts boundary lubrication between joint surfaces. Besides its cytoprotective function and extracellular matrix (ECM) attachment, lubricin is recommended as a novel biotherapeutic protein that restore functional articular cartilage. Likewise, malfunction of lubrication in damaged articular cartilage caused by complex and...

Why regeneration does not occur in mammals remains elusive. In lower vertebrates, epimorphic regeneration of the limb is directed by the wound epidermis, which controls blastema formation to promote regrowth of the appendage. Herein, we report that knockout (KO) or inhibition of Apoptosis Signal-regulated Kinase-1 (ASK1), also known as mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase 5 (MAP3K5), ...

BACKGROUND Cartilage tissue engineering using synthetic scaffolds allows maintaining mechanical integrity and withstanding stress loads in the body, as well as providing a temporary substrate to which transplanted cells can adhere. PURPOSE This study evaluates the use of polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds for the regeneration of articular cartilage in a rabbit model. STUDY DESIGN Controlled l...

To investigate whether the uniqueness of proximal and distal limb regenerates could be attributed simply to differing blastemal growth characteristics, their increase in volume, cell number and cell-cycle times were determined. With respect to these parameters proximal and distal blastemas were identical and, furthermore, no evidence could be found for the existance of separate growth zones suc...

In certain amphibian models limb regeneration can be promoted or inhibited by the local wound bed environment. This research introduces a device that can be utilized as an experimental tool to characterize the conditions that promotes limb regeneration in the adult frog (Xenopus laevis) model. In particular, this device was designed to manipulate the local wound environment via a hydrogel inser...

Background & Aims: One of cell- based technical issues associated with cartilage repair assay is delivering cells to the site of the parts where damage is created. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) with their chondrogenic potential are ideal candidates for cartilage regeneration. High expression of cartilage hypertrophy markers by MSCs would result in apoptosis and ossification. This investigation ...

Background: Recently, cartilage tissue engineering is the best candidate for regeneration of cartilage defects. We evaluated the potential of fibrin and PLGA/fibrin scaffolds in providing a suitable environment for growth and chondrogenic differentiation of human adipose derived stem cells (hADSCs) in the presence of icariin. Method: The Three-dimensional...

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a major component of cartilage extracellular matrix and is an attractive material for use as 3D injectable matrices for cartilage regeneration. While previous studies have shown the promise of HA-based hydrogels to support cell-based cartilage formation, varying HA concentration generally led to simultaneous changes in both biochemical cues and stiffness. How cells respo...

The aims of this study were to (1) determine whether platelet-rich plasma (PRP) could be prepared as a bioactive scaffold capable of endogenous growth factor release for cartilage repair; (2) compare the chondrogenic differentiation ability of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from bone marrow (BMSC) and from adipose (ADSC) seeded within the PRP scaffold; and (3) test the efficacy of ADSC-PRP const...