Cell penetration and chondrogenic differentiation of human adipose derived stem cells on 3D scaffold

The ability of cells to penetrate the scaffold and differentiate into chondrocyte is important in cartilage engineering. The aim of this research was to evaluate the use of silk fibroin 3D scaffold in facilitating the growth of stem cell and to study the role of L-ascorbic acid and platelet rich plasma (PRP) in proliferation and differentiation genes. Cell penetration and type II collagen content in the silk fibroin scaffold was analyzed by confocal microscopy. Relative expressions of CDH2, CCND1, CTNNB1 and COL2A1 were analyzed by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). The silk fibroin 3D scaffold could facilitate cell penetration. L-ascorbic acid and PRP increased the expression of CDH2 and COL2A1 on the 21st day of treatment while PRP inhibited CTNNB1 and CCND1. Lay abstract: Cartilage engineering can be a solution to overcome cartilage damage resulting from accident or degenerative diseases. Cartilage engineering combines cells, scaffolds and biochemical factors to produce functional cartilage. The use of stem cells as a cell source in cartilage engineering is beneficial because they can develop into chondrocytes and produce cartilage. Silk fibroin, a natural-based scaffold, facilitates penetration, growth, and differentiation of stem cells into chondrocytes. Cells-scaffold constructs supplemented with L-ascorbic acid or PRP enhance the chondrocyte extracellular matrix indicating that the construct can be develop into cartilage tissue.