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Bioactive nanofiber gel matrix may promote new cartilage growth
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Researchers at Northwestern University are among the first to design a bioactive nanomaterial that promotes new cartilage growth in vivo without using added growth factors. The minimally invasive therapy activates bone marrow stem cells to produce natural cartilage, according to research published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“Our material of nanoscopic fibers stimulates stem cells present in bone marrow to produce cartilage containing type II collagen and repair the damaged joint,” Ramille N. Shah, an author of the study and assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at the Feinberg School of Medicine, stated in a Northwestern University press release.
Type II collagen is the major protein in articular cartilage. According to Shah, microfracture tends to form cartilage consisting predominantly of type I collagen, which is not as smooth as normal cartilage.
Injectable liquid
The nanoscopic gel material devised by Northwestern University researchers is injected in liquid form into an area of the joint with a cartilage defect. It then self-assembles and forms a solid extracellular matrix. The matrix then mimics a structure recognized by cells and, through its molecular design, binds one of the most important existent growth factors for cartilage repair and regeneration.
The biodegradable matrix is based on self-assembling peptide amphiphile molecules that only need to be present for 1 month before they biodegrade and are replaced by cartilage.
“Unlike bone, cartilage does not grow back and, therefore, clinical strategies to regenerate this tissue are of great interest,” Samuel I. Stupp, a senior author of the study and director of the Institute for BioNanotechnology in Medicine, stated in the release.
Animal model results
Shah, Stupp and colleagues worked with orthopedic surgeon Nirav A. Shah, MD, to implant the nanofiber gel in an animal model with cartilage defects following microfracture treatments. They tested various combinations of the microfracture and nanofiber gel matrix with and without an added growth factor.
They found the results of their technique were much better than microfracture alone and that adding an expensive growth factor did not yield the best results. Due to the molecular design of the gel material, the body’s own growth factor was sufficient enough to regenerate cartilage, according to results in the release.
- References:
Shah RN, Shah NA, Del Rosario Lim MM, et al. Supramolecular design of self-assembling nanofibers for cartilage regeneration. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010.
The National Institutes of Health and Nantotype GMBH supported the research.
Stupp is a founder of Nanotype and serves as a director and member of its scientific advisory board.
