Engineering articular cartilage substitutes using hydrogels
with encapsulated cells is an approach that has received
increasing attention in recent years. Hydrogels based on
κ-carrageenan (κC), a thermoreversible natural-origin polymer,
have been recently proposed as new cell/growth factor
delivery vehicles for regenerative medicine. In this work, we
report the potential of such hydrogels encapsulating either
human-adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs), human nasal
chondrocytes (hNCs), or a chondrocytic cell line (ATDC5) for
cartilage regeneration strategies. The in vitro cellular behavior
of the encapsulated cells within κC hydrogel was analyzed
after different culturing periods using biochemical assays and
histological and real-time reverse-transcription PCR analysis.
The three types of cells encapsulated in κC hydrogels showed
good cellular viability and proliferation up to 21 days of
culture, and the cell-laden hydrogels were positive for specific
cartilage markers. In summary, the results demonstrate that
hASCs embedded in κC hydrogels proliferate faster and exhibit
higher expression levels of typical cartilage markers as
compared with hNCs or ATDC5 cells. Based on these data, it is
possible to conclude that κC hydrogel provides a good support
for culture and differentiation of encapsulated cells and that
hASCs may provide an advantageous alternative to primary
chondrocytes, currently used in clinical treatments of cartilage
defects/diseases.
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