A Novel Strategy by Using Synovial Membranes, Cartilage Fragments and Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Cartilage Tissue Engineering: A Novel Strategy for Cartilage Tissue Engineering

In this study, we used cartilage fragments, synovial membranes and bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells to mimic a knee joint environment for cartilage tissue engineering. SEM images showed that MSCs attached and grew well in the constructs and exhibited polygonal cell morphologies. Histological analyses revealed that the constructs showed round cell appearances with positive Alcian blue staining. After 28 days of in-vitro culture, the gene expressions of type II collagen were significantly increased. Therefore, we suggested that the constructs containing cartilage fragments, synovial membranes and MSCs resulted in better outcomes for chondrogenesis. This might be a novel strategy for articular cartilage repair and regeneration.