1. Biomaterials Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 131, Cheongryang, Seoul 130‐650, Korea;2. School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul, Korea
Abstract:
Two chondrogenic factors, Dex and TGF‐β1, were incorporated into PLGA scaffolds and their chondrogenic potential was evaluated. The Dex‐loaded PLGA scaffold was grafted with AA and heparin, the heparin‐immobilized one was then reacted with TGF‐β1, yielding a PLGA/Dex‐TGF (PLGA/D/T) scaffold. The scaffolds were seeded with rabbit MSCs and cultured for 4 weeks. The results show that the scaffolds including chondrogenic factors strongly upregulated the expression of cartilage‐specific genes and clearly displayed type‐II collagen immunofluorescence. The functionalized PLGA scaffolds could provide an appropriate niche for chondrogenic differentiation of MSC without a constant medium supply of Dex and TGF‐β1.
