Conduits harnessing spatially controlled cell-secreted neurotrophic factors improve peripheral nerve regeneration.

An essential structure in nerve regeneration within engineered conduits is the "nerve bridge" initiated by centrally migrating Schwann cells in response to chemokine gradients. Introducing exogenous cells secreting neurotrophic factors aims to augment this repair process, but conventional cell-seeding methods fail to produce a directional chemokine gradient. We report a versatile method to encapsulate cells within conduit walls, allowing for reproducible control of spatial distribution along the conduit. Conduits with stem cells encapsulated within the central third possessed markedly different cell distribution and retention over 6 weeks in vivo, compared to standard cell lumen injection. Such a construct promoted Schwann cell migration centrally, and at 16 weeks rats presented with significantly enhanced function and axonal myelination. The method of utilizing a spatially restricted cell secretome departs from traditional homogeneous cell loading, and presents new approaches for studying and maximizing the potential of cell application in peripheral nerve repair.

Chondrogenesis of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in 3-dimensional, photocrosslinked hydrogel constructs: Effect of cell seeding density and material stiffness.

Three-dimensional hydrogel constructs incorporated with live stem cells that support chondrogenic differentiation and maintenance offer a promising regenerative route towards addressing the limited self-repair capabilities of articular cartilage. In particular, hydrogel scaffolds that augment chondrogenesis and recapitulate the native physical properties of cartilage, such as compressive strength, can potentially be applied in point-of-care procedures. We report here the synthesis of two new materials, [poly-l-lactic acid/polyethylene glycol/poly-l-lactic acid] (PLLA-PEG 1000) and [poly-d,l-lactic acid/polyethylene glycol/poly-d,l-lactic acid] (PDLLA-PEG 1000), that are biodegradable, biocompatible (>80% viability post fabrication), and possess high, physiologically relevant mechanical strength (∼1500 to 1800kPa). This study examined the effects of physiologically relevant cell densities (4, 8, 20, and 50×106/mL) and hydrogel stiffnesses (∼150kPa to∼1500kPa Young's moduli) on chondrogenesis of human bone marrow stem cells incorporated in hydrogel constructs fabricated with these materials and a previously characterized PDLLA-PEG 4000. Results showed that 20×106cells/mL, under a static culture condition, was the most efficient cell seeding density for extracellular matrix (ECM) production on the basis of hydroxyproline and glycosaminoglycan content. Interestingly, material stiffness did not significantly affect chondrogenesis, but rather material concentration was correlated to chondrogenesis with increasing levels at lower concentrations based on ECM production, chondrogenic gene expression, and histological analysis. These findings establish optimal cell densities for chondrogenesis within three-dimensional cell-incorporated hydrogels, inform hydrogel material development for cartilage tissue engineering, and demonstrate the efficacy and potential utility of PDLLA-PEG 1000 for point-of-care treatment of cartilage defects. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Engineering cartilage with physiologically relevant mechanical properties for point-of-care applications represents a major challenge in orthopedics, given the generally low mechanical strengths of traditional hydrogels used in cartilage tissue engineering. In this study, we characterized a new material that possesses high mechanical strength similar to native cartilage, and determined the optimal cell density and scaffold stiffness to achieve the most efficient chondrogenic response from seeded human bone marrow stem cells. Results show robust chondrogenesis and strongly suggest the potential of this material to be applied clinically for point-of-care repair of cartilage defects.

Comparative binder efficiency modeling of dry granulation binders using roller compaction.

Roller compaction parameters' impact on granules and tableting properties of coprocessed Avicel® DG [ADG], a physical mixture of the two components at the same composition present in ADG [PADCP], and microcrystalline cellulose and Kollidon® VA-64 Fine physical mixture [KVA64] was quantified by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multivariate methods. Roller force, roller gap, and roller speed levels were selected for evaluation. A 33 full-factorial experimental design with three center points for roller force, roller gap, and roller speed was used. The response parameters studied were granule-to-fines (GF) ratio, compressibility index (CI), tablet thickness (TT), tablet friability (TF), tablet breaking force (TBF) and disintegration time (DT). A model acetaminophen tablet formulation was roller granulated and tableted at 10 kg scale. Principal component analysis of ADG and PADCP formulations were separated from KVA64 formulations, indicating different granule and tableting properties were binder dependent. This difference in binder performance was also confirmed by ANOVA. The ANOVA also showed that there were no statistical performance differences between coprocessed ADG and its comparable physical blend with the exception of TT. Principal component regression (PCR) analyses of ADG and PADCP revealed that these excipients exhibited a statistically significant negative effect on granules-to-fine (GF) ratio, TT, TBF, and DT. KVA64 demonstrated a positive effect on these parameters. The KVA64 physical mixture demonstrated an overall better performance and binding capability. This study strongly suggests that there is no performance advantage of coprocessed Avicel® DG when compared to a physical mixture of the two components at the same composition.

Effects of water and polymer content on covalent amide-linked adduct formation in peptide-containing amorphous lyophiles.

Deamidation of asparagine-containing proteins and peptides results in the formation of hydrolysis products via a reactive succinimide intermediate. In amorphous lyophile formulations at low water content, nucleophilic amine groups in neighboring molecules can effectively compete with water for reaction with the succinimide intermediate resulting in the formation of a variety of covalent amide-linked adducts. This study examines the effects of changes in percentage of a polymeric excipient [hypromellose (HPMC)] and water content on the degradants formed from a model asparaginyl peptide (Gly-Phe-L-Asn-Gly) in amorphous solids also containing an excess of Gly-Val and carbonate buffer and stored at 40°C. Degradation of Gly-Phe-L-Asn-Gly and formation of succinimide intermediates, aspartyl peptides, and covalent amide-linked adducts were monitored by high-performance liquid chromatography. In all formulations and storage conditions, the formation kinetics of aspartyl hydrolysis products and covalent adducts could be described by a mechanism-based model that assigned a central role to the succinimide intermediate. Increasing the percentage of HPMC (i.e., reactant dilution) favored the formation of hydrolysis products over covalent amide-linked adducts, consistent with the bimolecular nature of covalent adduct formation. Increases in water content as relative humidity (RH) was varied from 33% to 75% produced orders-of-magnitude increases in the rate constants for succinimide formation and hydrolysis with both becoming nearly constant at high water contents. A bell-shaped profile for the dependence of the rate of covalent adduct formation on water content was observed, a result that may be indicative of phase separation at higher RHs.