Page 284 - IJB-10-5

International

Journal of Bioprinting

RESEARCH ARTICLE
A study on the synergistic chondro-inductive

effects of collagen II and its high-resolution
3D-printed scaffolds

Kaixuan Li 1,2† id , Hanxiao Huang 1,2,3† id , and Cailiang Shen *
1,2 id
1 Department of Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui,
China
2 Laboratory of Spinal and Spinal Cord Injury Regeneration and Repair, Department of Spine
Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China
3
Department of Stomatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui,
China

Abstract

Collagen II is the most essential component of the cartilage-specific extracellular
matrix (ECM). However, research on collagen II-based scaffold fabrication, structural
optimization, and correlation to the chondrogenic activities of stem cells is currently
limited, presumably due to challenges related to its hydrogel processability. Existing
collagen II-containing scaffolds are mainly produced by freeze-drying and exhibit
limited properties, such as pore interconnectivity and tortuosity. Additionally,
the chondro-inductive capability of collagen II composition and its underlying
mechanism remains unclear, warranting further research. In this study, we addressed
† These authors contributed equally the aforementioned issues by investigating and enhancing the rheological properties
to the work.
of collagen II-based hydrogel, resulting in a high printing resolution exceeding
*Corresponding author: 150 μm. The collagen II composition reportedly facilitated the condensation and
Cailiang Shen chondrogenic activities of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) compared to gelatin.
(shencailiang@ahmu.edu.cn)
Moreover, high-resolution collagen II-based scaffolds promoted cell proliferation

Citation: Li K, Huang H, Shen C. and chondrogenic differentiation to a higher degree. Therefore, we optimized

A study on the synergistic
chondro-inductive effects of the compositional and structural characteristics of collagen II-based scaffolds for
collagen II and its high-resolution enhancing chondrogenic activities. We anticipate that this study will broaden our
3D-printed scaffolds. understanding of collagen II-based scaffold designs and condition optimizations for
Int J Bioprint. 2024;10(5):3371.
doi: 10.36922/ijb.3371 cartilage tissue engineering.
Received: April 6, 2024
Accepted: June 10, 2024 Keywords: Collagen II; 3D printing; Scaffold structure; Printing resolution;
Published Online: July 25, 2024
Chondrogenic differentiation
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s).
This is an Open Access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution, 1. Introduction
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is Cartilage is a hydrated and densely fibrillated tissue that provides connecting, load-
properly cited. bearing, and vibration-absorbing functions in the human body. Due to a lack of
1–3
Publisher’s Note: AccScience vasculature and resultant supply of nutrition, self-regeneration is limited in the cartilage.
Publishing remains neutral with Therefore, tissue engineering may be particularly useful for cartilage regeneration. The
4,5
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional key outcome in cartilage tissue engineering is the sufficient production of cartilage-specific
6,7
affiliations. extracellular matrix (ECM) compounds, including collagen II, glycosaminoglycan
Volume 10 Issue 5 (2024) 276 doi: 10.36922/ijb.3371