Biological evaluation of polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel crosslinked by polyurethane chain for cartilage tissue engineering in rabbit model

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel chains were crosslinked by urethane pre-polymer (PPU) in order to fabricate a new substitute for cartilage lesions. The microscopy images showed that the cultured chondrocytes had spherical morphology on PVA-PPU sample after 4 weeks of isolation in vitro. The alcian blue and safranin O staining proved the presence of proteoglycan on the surface of PVA-PPU sample secreted by cultured chondrocytes. This was confirmed by the detection of sulfate ions in the wavelength dispersive X-ray (WDX) analysis. In addition, the expression of collagen type II and aggrecan were observed in chondrocytes cultured on PVA-PPU by RT-PCR. Moreover, the implantation of the PVA-PPU sample with autologous cultured chondrocytes revealed the formation of neocartilage tissue in a rabbit model during 12 weeks follow up. In conclusion, the results verified that isolated chondrocytes cultured on PVA-PPU retain their original phenotype and this composition can be considered as promising substrate for cartilage tissue engineering.