Phuong N. Dang

Engineered cartilage via self-assembled hMSC sheets with incorporated biodegradable gelatin microspheres releasing transforming growth factor-β1

Self-assembling cell sheets have shown great potential for use in cartilage tissue engineering applications, as they provide an advantageous environment for the chondrogenic induction of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). We have engineered a system of self-assembled, microsphere-incorporated hMSC sheets capable of forming cartilage in the presence of exogenous transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) or with TGF-β1 released from incorporated microspheres. Gelatin microspheres with two different degrees of crosslinking were used to enable different cell-mediated microsphere degradation rates. Biochemical assays, histological and immunohistochemical analyses, and biomechanical testing were performed to determine biochemical composition, structure, and equilibrium modulus in unconfined compression after 3 weeks of culture. The inclusion of microspheres with or without loaded TGF-β1 significantly increased sheet thickness and compressive equilibrium modulus, and enabled more uniform matrix deposition by comparison to control sheets without microspheres. Sheets incorporated with fast-degrading microspheres containing TGF-β1 produced significantly more GAG and GAG per DNA than all other groups tested and stained more intensely for type II collagen. These findings demonstrate improved cartilage formation in microsphere-incorporated cell sheets, and describe a tailorable system for the chondrogenic induction of hMSCs without necessitating culture in growth factor-containing medium.

Functionalized, biodegradable hydrogels for control over sustained and localized siRNA delivery to incorporated and surrounding cells

Currently, the most severe limitation to applying RNA interference technology is delivery, including localizing the molecules to a specific site of interest to target a specific cell population and sustaining the presentation of these molecules for a controlled period of time. In this study, we engineered a functionalized, biodegradable system created by covalent incorporation of cationic linear polyethyleneimine (LPEI) into photocrosslinked dextran (DEX) hydrogels through a biodegradable ester linkage. The key innovation of this system is that control over the sustained release of short interference RNA (siRNA) was achieved, as LPEI could electrostatically interact with siRNA to maintain siRNA within the hydrogels and degradation of the covalent ester linkages between the LPEI and the hydrogels led to tunable release of LPEI/siRNA complexes over time. The covalent conjugation of LPEI did not affect the swelling or degradation properties of the hydrogels, and the addition of siRNA and LPEI had minimal effect on their mechanical properties. These hydrogels exhibited low cytotoxicity against human embryonic kidney 293 cells (HEK293). The release profiles could be tailored by varying DEX (8 and 12% w/w) and LPEI (0, 5, 10 μg/100 μl gel) concentrations with nearly 100% cumulative release achieved at day 9 (8% w/w gel) and day 17 (12% w/w gel). The released siRNA exhibited high bioactivity with cells surrounding and inside the hydrogels over an extended time period. This controllable and sustained siRNA delivery hydrogel system that permits tailored siRNA release profiles may be valuable to guide cell fate for regenerative medicine and other therapeutic applications such as cancer treatment.

Spatiotemporal Regulation of Chondrogenic Differentiation with Controlled Delivery of Transforming Growth Factor-β1 from Gelatin Microspheres in Mesenchymal Stem Cell Aggregates

The precise spatial and temporal presentation of growth factors is critical for cartilage development, during which tightly controlled patterns of signals direct cell behavior and differentiation. Recently, chondrogenic culture of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) has been improved through the addition of polymer microspheres capable of releasing growth factors directly to cells within cellular aggregates, eliminating the need for culture in transforming growth factor‐β1 (TGF‐β1)‐containing medium. However, the influence of specific patterns of spatiotemporal growth factor presentation on chondrogenesis within microsphere‐incorporated cell systems is unclear. In this study, we examined the effects of altering the chondrogenic microenvironment within hMSC aggregates through varying microsphere amount, growth factor concentration per microsphere, and polymer degradation time. Cartilage formation was evaluated in terms of DNA, glycosaminoglycan, and type II collagen in hMSCs from three donors. Chondrogenesis equivalent to or greater than that of aggregates cultured in medium containing TGF‐β1 was achieved in some conditions, with varied differentiation based on the specific conditions of microsphere incorporation. A more spatially distributed delivery of TGF‐β1 from a larger mass of fast‐degrading microspheres improved differentiation by comparison with delivery from a smaller mass of microspheres with a higher TGF‐β1 concentration per microsphere, although the total amount of growth factor per aggregate was the same. Results also indicated that the rate and degree of chondrogenesis varied on a donor‐to‐donor basis. Overall, this study elucidates the effects of varied conditions of TGF‐β1‐loaded microsphere incorporation on hMSC chondrogenesis, demonstrating that both spatiotemporal growth factor presentation and donor variability influence chondrogenic differentiation within microsphere‐incorporated cellular constructs.

Controlled Dual Growth Factor Delivery From Microparticles Incorporated Within Human Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Aggregates for Enhanced Bone Tissue Engineering via Endochondral Ossification

Bone tissue engineering via endochondral ossification has been explored by chondrogenically priming cells using soluble mediators for at least 3 weeks to produce a hypertrophic cartilage template. Although recapitulation of endochondral ossification has been achieved, long‐term in vitro culture is required for priming cells through repeated supplementation of inductive factors in the media. To address this challenge, a microparticle‐based growth factor delivery system was engineered to drive endochondral ossification within human bone marrow‐derived mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) aggregates. Sequential exogenous presentation of soluble transforming growth factor‐β1 (TGF‐β1) and bone morphogenetic protein‐2 (BMP‐2) at various defined time courses resulted in varying degrees of chondrogenesis and osteogenesis as demonstrated by glycosaminoglycan and calcium content. The time course that best induced endochondral ossification was used to guide the development of the microparticle‐based controlled delivery system for TGF‐β1 and BMP‐2. Gelatin microparticles capable of relatively rapid release of TGF‐β1 and mineral‐coated hydroxyapatite microparticles permitting more sustained release of BMP‐2 were then incorporated within hMSC aggregates and cultured for 5 weeks following the predetermined time course for sequential presentation of bioactive signals. Compared with cell‐only aggregates treated with exogenous growth factors, aggregates with incorporated TGF‐β1‐ and BMP‐2‐loaded microparticles exhibited enhanced chondrogenesis and alkaline phosphatase activity at week 2 and a greater degree of mineralization by week 5. Staining for types I and II collagen, osteopontin, and osteocalcin revealed the presence of cartilage and bone. This microparticle‐incorporated system has potential as a readily implantable therapy for healing bone defects without the need for long‐term in vitro chondrogenic priming.

Spatially organized differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells within biphasic microparticle-incorporated high cell density osteochondral tissues.

Giving rise to both bone and cartilage during development, bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) have the unique capacity to generate the complex tissues of the osteochondral interface. Utilizing a scaffold-free hMSC system, biphasic osteochondral constructs are incorporated with two types of growth factor-releasing microparticles to enable spatially organized differentiation. Gelatin microspheres (GM) releasing transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) combined with hMSC form the chondrogenic phase. The osteogenic phase contains hMSC only, mineral-coated hydroxyapatite microparticles (MCM), or MCM loaded with bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2), cultured in medium with or without BMP-2. After 4 weeks, TGF-β1 release from GM within the cartilage phase promotes formation of a glycosaminoglycan- and type II collagen-rich matrix, and has a local inhibitory effect on osteogenesis. In the osteogenic phase, type X collagen and osteopontin are produced in all conditions. However, calcification occurs on the outer edges of the chondrogenic phase in some constructs cultured in media containing BMP-2, and alkaline phosphatase levels are elevated, indicating that BMP-2 releasing MCM provides better control over region-specific differentiation. The production of complex, stem cell-derived osteochondral tissues via incorporated microparticles could enable earlier implantation, potentially improving outcomes in the treatment of osteochondral defects.

Endochondral Ossification in Critical‐Sized Bone Defects via Readily Implantable Scaffold‐Free Stem Cell Constructs

The growing socioeconomic burden of musculoskeletal injuries and limitations of current therapies have motivated tissue engineering approaches to generate functional tissues to aid in defect healing. A readily implantable scaffold‐free system comprised of human bone marrow‐derived mesenchymal stem cells embedded with bioactive microparticles capable of controlled delivery of transforming growth factor‐beta 1 (TGF‐β1) and bone morphogenetic protein‐2 (BMP‐2) was engineered to guide endochondral bone formation. The microparticles were formulated to release TGF‐β1 early to induce cartilage formation and BMP‐2 in a more sustained manner to promote remodeling into bone. Cell constructs containing microparticles, empty or loaded with one or both growth factors, were implanted into rat critical‐sized calvarial defects. Micro‐computed tomography and histological analyses after 4 weeks showed that microparticle‐incorporated constructs with or without growth factor promoted greater bone formation compared to sham controls, with the greatest degree of healing with bony bridging resulting from constructs loaded with BMP‐2 and TGF‐β1. Importantly, bone volume fraction increased significantly from 4 to 8 weeks in defects treated with both growth factors. Immunohistochemistry revealed the presence of types I, II, and X collagen, suggesting defect healing via endochondral ossification in all experimental groups. The presence of vascularized red bone marrow provided strong evidence for the ability of these constructs to stimulate angiogenesis. This system has great translational potential as a readily implantable combination therapy that can initiate and accelerate endochondral ossification in vivo. Importantly, construct implantation does not require prior lengthy in vitro culture for chondrogenic cell priming with growth factors that is necessary for current scaffold‐free combination therapies. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2017;6:1644–1659

RNA interfering molecule delivery from in situ forming biodegradable hydrogels for enhancement of bone formation in rat calvarial bone defects

RNA interference (RNAi) may be an effective and valuable tool for promoting the growth of functional tissue, as short interfering RNA (siRNA) and microRNA (miRNA) can block the expression of genes that have negative effects on tissue regeneration. Our group has recently reported that the localized and sustained presentation of siRNA against noggin (siNoggin) and miRNA-20a from in situ forming poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogels enhanced osteogenic differentiation of encapsulated human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). Here, the capacity of the hydrogel system to accelerate bone formation in a rat calvarial bone defect model is presented. After 12 weeks post-implantation, the hydrogels containing encapsulated hMSCs and miRNA-20a resulted in more bone formation in the defects than the hydrogels containing hMSCs without siRNA or with negative control siRNA. This localized and sustained RNA interfering molecule delivery system may provide an excellent platform for healing bony defects and other tissues. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE Delivery of RNAi molecules may be a valuable strategy to guide cell behavior for tissue engineering applications, but to date there have been no reports of a biomaterial system capable of both encapsulation of cells and controlled delivery of incorporated RNA. Here, we present PEG hydrogels that form in situ via Michael type reaction, and that permit encapsulation of hMSCs and the concomitant controlled delivery of siNoggin and/or miRNA-20a. These RNAs were chosen to suppress noggin, a BMP-2 antagonist, and/or PPAR-γ, a negative regulator of BMP-2-mediated osteogenesis, and therefore promote osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs and subsequent bone repair in critical-sized rat calvarial defects. Simultaneous delivery of hMSCs and miRNA-20a enhanced repair of these defects compared to hydrogels containing hMSCs without siRNA or with negative control siRNA. This in situ forming PEG hydrogel system offers an exciting platform for healing critical-sized bone defects by localized, controlled delivery of RNAi molecules to encapsulated hMSCs and surrounding cells.