Journal
BIOMATERIALS
Volume 39, Issue -, Pages 85-94Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2014.10.067
Keywords
Connective tissue; Drug delivery; ECM (extracellular matrix); In vivo test; Scaffold; Wound healing
Funding
- National Institutes of Health [R01 AR056624, T32 GM007170, T32 AR007132]
- Department of Veterans Affairs [101 RX000174]
- Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation
- Armour-Lewis Foundation
- School of Veterinary Medicine
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Repair of dense connective tissues in adults is limited by their intrinsic hypocellularity and is exacerbated by a dense extracellular matrix (ECM) that impedes cellular migration to and local proliferation at the wound site. Conversely, healing in fetal tissues occurs due in part to an environment conducive to cell mobility and division. Here, we investigated whether the application of a degradative enzyme, collagenase, could reprogram the adult wound margin to a more fetal-like state, and thus abrogate the biophysical impediments that hinder migration and proliferation. We tested this concept using the knee meniscus, a commonly injured structure for which few regenerative approaches exist. To focus delivery and degradation to the wound interface, we developed a system in which collagenase was stored inside poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) electrospun nanofibers and released upon hydration. Through a series of in vitro and in vivo studies, our findings show that partial digestion of the wound interface improves repair by creating a more compliant and porous microenvironment that expedites cell migration to and/or proliferation at the wound margin. This innovative approach of targeted manipulation of the wound interface, focused on removing the naturally occurring barriers to adult tissue repair, may find widespread application in the treatment of injuries to a variety of dense connective tissues. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available