Strategy insight: Mechanical properties of biomaterials' influence on hydrogel-mesenchymal stromal cell combination for osteoarthritis therapy

Haoli Ying; Chengchun Shen; Ruolang Pan; Xiongfeng Li; Ye Chen

doi:10.3389/fphar.2023.1152612

Strategy insight: Mechanical properties of biomaterials' influence on hydrogel-mesenchymal stromal cell combination for osteoarthritis therapy

Front Pharmacol. 2023 Apr 19:14:1152612. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1152612. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Haoli Ying^{1

2

3}, Chengchun Shen^{4

5}, Ruolang Pan⁶, Xiongfeng Li^{4

5}, Ye Chen^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Genetics, The Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Hangzhou, China.
² Department of Genetic and Metabolic Disease, The Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Hangzhou, China.
³ Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Genetic and Developmental Disorders, Institute of Genetics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
⁴ Huzhou Basic and Clinical Translation of Orthopaedics Key Laboratory, Huzhou, China.
⁵ Department of Orthopedics, Huzhou Central Hospital, Zhejiang University Huzhou Hospital, Huzhou, China.
⁶ Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Cell-Based Drug and Applied Technology Development, Hangzhou, China.

Abstract

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a kind of degenerative joint disease usually found in older adults and those who have received meniscal surgery, bringing great suffering to a number of patients worldwide. One of the major pathological features of OA is retrograde changes in the articular cartilage. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) can differentiate into chondrocytes and promote cartilage regeneration, thus having great potential for the treatment of osteoarthritis. However, improving the therapeutic effect of MSCs in the joint cavity is still an open problem. Hydrogel made of different biomaterials has been recognized as an ideal carrier for MSCs in recent years. This review focuses on the influence of the mechanical properties of hydrogels on the efficacy of MSCs in OA treatment and compares artificial materials with articular cartilage, hoping to provide a reference for further development of modified hydrogels to improve the therapeutic effect of MSCs.

Keywords: cartilage regeneration; hydrogel; mechanical properties; mesenchymal stromal cells; osteoarthritis.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the project from the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (LZ23C070001), special funding from affiliated Huzhou Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine (YYJJ202208), and funding from Huzhou basic and clinical translation of Orthopaedics key laboratory.