Many attempts have been made to repair articular cartilage defects, including mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-based tissue engineering strategies. Although this approach shows promise, optimizing MSC sources and their delivery is challenging. This study was designed to test the feasibility of using MSCs found in the human arthroscopic flushing fluid (AFF) for cartilage regeneration, by incorporating them into a newly developed one-step rapid cross-linking hyper-branched polyPEGDA/HA hydrogel. AFF-MSCs were isolated from the original intra-articular flushing fluid of 10 patients prior to arthroscopic procedures. The hydrogel was fabricated with hyper-branched polyPEGDA and thiolated hyaluronic acid (HA). In vitro assays demonstrated that AFF-MSCs possessed the typical MSC morphology and phenotype, and maintained chondrogenic differentiation properties when encapsulated within the hydrogel. The AFF-MSC/hydrogel composite could significantly repair full-thickness cartilage defects generated in a rat model after 8 weeks of implantation; smooth cartilage was formed with evidence of hyaline cartilage formation. These data suggest that human AFF-MSCs are a novel and abundant MSC source that have high therapeutic value for cartilage regeneration.

已经进行了许多修复关节软骨缺损的尝试，包括基于间充质干细胞（MSC）的组织工程策略。尽管这种方法显示出了希望，但优化MSC来源及其交付仍然是一个挑战。这项研究旨在通过将人类关节镜冲洗液（AFF）中发现的MSCs整合到新开发的一步快速交联的超支化多分支聚PEGDA / HA水凝胶中，以测试将其用于软骨再生的可行性。在进行关节镜检查之前，先从10位患者的原始关节内冲洗液中分离出AFF-MSC。用超支化的聚PEGDA和硫醇化透明质酸（HA）制备水凝胶。体外分析表明，AFF-MSCs具有典型的MSC形态和表型，并且当包裹在水凝胶中时仍保持软骨分化特性。AFF-MSC /水凝胶复合物可显着修复植入大鼠8周后在大鼠模型中产生的全层软骨缺损。形成透明软骨，有透明软骨形成的迹象。这些数据表明，人AFF-MSC是新颖且丰富的MSC来源，其对于软骨再生具有高治疗价值。