Localization of VEGF at the early stage of cartilage repair using bioabsorbable synthetic polymer scaffold

Sakata R, +Fujioka H, Inui A, Toyokawa N, Nagura I, Kokubu T, Makino T, Kaneko H, Satake M, Kurosaka M 1 Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan, + Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Japan. Department of Tissue Engineering Development, Teijin Technology Innovation Center, TEIJIN Limited, Japan Senior author: [email protected] INTRODUCTION The repair of articular cartilage defect is challenging due to the limited capacity of cartilage to heal itself. Several methods, including tissue engineering techniques, for articular cartilage repair have shown good results. Bioabsorbable scaffolds have a potential to repair the osteochondral defect without cultured cells [1]. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been necessary for chondrocyte survival during cartilage development [2] and the regulation of VEGF signaling during the chondrogenic differentiation is important. The objective of the present study is to investigate the localization of VEGF at the early stage of cartilage repair using bioabsorbable synthetic scaffold in a rabbit model. METHODS Electrospinning PLG scaffold (Fig.1) To make the electrospinning PLG scaffold, PLG was purchased from Absorbable Polymers International, Inc. (AL, USA). The molar ratio of lactide to glycolide was 50:50. In electrospinning, synthetic ultra-fine polymer fiber ranging from 5 μm to 10 μm in diameter was fabricated in a highvoltage electron field. The porosity of each scaffold was 85±0.8 %.