@article {18103,
	title = {Human Fibrochondrocytes Increase Biomechanical Properties of Novel Silk Fibroin Scaffolds for Meniscus Tissue Engineering},
	booktitle = {TERMIS-EU 2013},
	year = {2013},
	month = {2013-06-17 00:00:00},
	address = {Istanbul, Turkey},
	abstract = {<p>Strategies for meniscus tissue engineering (TE) should be able to reply properties of native tissue. This work presents the properties and in vitro biological performance of novel silk fibroin scaffolds. Furthermore, the influence of seeding human meniscus fibrochondrocytes on biomechanical properties was assessed <em>in vitro</em>.Silk-based scaffolds (10 and 12 wt\%) were produced by means of combining salt leaching and lyophilization methods. Human meniscus cells (HMC{\textasciiacute}s) were isolated using enzymatic digestion and expanded using standard culture conditions. Human fresh menisci macroscopically intact were used for cell{\textquoteright}s harvesting and isolation. HMC{\textquoteright}s were seeded at a cell density of 5 x 10<sup>4</sup> cells/scaffold. Cell-laden constructs were cultured in static conditions, up to 21 days. HMC{\textasciiacute}s adhesion was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Viability (calcein-AM assay) and proliferation tests (DNA quantification) were performed until 21 days of culturing. Dynamic mechanical analyses (DMA) were also performed. SEM analysis revealed that HMC{\textasciiacute}s adhered to scaffold{\textquoteright}s surface. Live/dead assay and DNA quantification analysis showed that HMC{\textasciiacute}s were viable and proliferated after culturing onto the 10 and 12 wt\% silk fibroin scaffolds. The moduli of acellular scaffolds immersed in culture medium for 14 days were 27.6 {\textpm} 7.9 kPa and 61.1 {\textpm} 0.4 at 10 Hz, for silk-10 e silk-12, respectively. The moduli of the cell-laden constructs after 14 days of culturing were 48.2 {\textpm} 19.8 and 140.1 {\textpm} 15.6 kPa, for silk-10 and silk-12, respectively. Silk scaffolds showed great promise for finding application in meniscus TE as it supported cells adhesion, proliferation and viability, and improved the biomechanical features of acelular scaffolds.</p>},
	keywords = {biomechanics, Fibrochondrocytes, meniscus, Silk scaffolds},
	author = {Pereira, H. and Silva-Correia, J. and Yan, L. P. and Oliveira, A. L. and Oliveira, J. M. and Espregueira-Mendes, J. D. and Reis, R. L.}
}
