Chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cell obtained from adipose tissue using collagen type II as support for cartilage repair

Author(s)

Pedro Bordeaux Rego

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Campinas, SP.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Faculdade de Ciências Médicas
• Defense date: 2011-07-26

Examining board members

Sara Teresinha Olalla Saad; William Dias Belangero; Mario Ferretti Filho

• Advisor: Sara Teresinha Olalla Saad

Abstract

The cartilage injury is a significant and growing problem of public health. Therapies with adult stem cells have been a promising alternative and have attracted much interest from researchers. The mesenchymal stem cells derived from adipose tissue are characterized as being a homogeneous population with fibroblastic morphology, adherent and with great capacity for proliferation, positive for cell markers CD90 +, CD105 +, CD29 + and CD73 +. They also have the capacity to differentiate into mesoderm lineage such as osteogênica, adipogenic and chondrogenic. Besides the choice of cell source, it is necessary to use a biomaterial that mimics a microenvironment that can support and allow the stem cells to restore tissue and function. It is known that the extracellular matrix of hyaline cartilage is composed of the protein collagen, mainly type II collagen which is important for the differentiation and maintenance of cartilage tissue. The biomaterial collagen type II hydrogel is able to support the mesenchymal stem cells and allow the differentiation of these cells. We describe a method for chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells from adipose tissue in a collagen type II hydrogel, with increased expression of genes related to the formation of the extracellular matrix of cartilage (collagen type II and aggrecan), and Sox-9 (a gene related with the control of chondrogenic differentiation) and increased the level of glycosaminoglycans in the extracellular matrix proteins. Experiments in animal model for cartilage lesions show that mesenchymal stem cells from adipose tissue and collagen type II hydrogel are able to develop a cartilaginous-like tissue filled with transplanted mesenchymal stem cells. Thus, this study demonstrates that collagen type II hydrogel have characteristics suitable for use in treatments to repair cartilage and mesenchymal stem cells from adipose tissue may be an alternative source for recovery of cartilage lesions (AU)