Bilayered PLGA scaffolds repair osteochondral defects in a rabbit model

Bilayered porous scaffolds have recently attracted researchers because of their considerable promise for repairing osteochondral defects. However, determination of optimal pore size in bilayered porous scaffolds remains an important issue. This study investigated the in vivo effects of pore size in bilayered scaffolds using a rabbit model of osteochondral defects. Ding group fabricated five types of integrated bilayered PLGA scaffolds with different pore sizes in the chondral and osseous layers. A subset of bilayered scaffolds seeded with or without allogenic bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) was implanted in rabbit osteochondral defects.

All of the cell/scaffold composite constructs supported the simultaneous regeneration of articular cartilage and subchondral bone, and the best results were observed in cell-seeded PLGA scaffolds with 100–200 mm pores in the chondral layer and 300–450 mm pores in the osseous layer. The work was made in cooperation with a surgeon group led by Professor Jian DONG. The article with Mr. Zhen PAN, a Ph. D student from Ding Group as a co-first author was published in J. Biomed. Mater. Res. Part A.

l  The effects of pore size in bilayered poly(lactide-co-glycolide) scaffolds on restoring osteochondral defects in rabbits

 Pingguo Duan, Zhen Pan (co-first author), Lu Cao, Yao He, Huiren Wang, Zehua Qu, Jian Dong^*, and Jiandong Ding*, J. Biomed. Mater. Res. Part A, 2013; doi: 10.1002/jbm.a.34683