Articular cartilage repair remains a significant challenge for researchers and clinicians, especially in the reconstruction of hyaline cartilage with proper biomechanical function [54, 55]. Compared to other methods of cartilage repair, such as bone marrow stimulation and autografts implantation, cartilage tissue engineering appears to be the most attractive therapy. With the development of new biomaterials and fabrication techniques, a variety of scaffolds have emerged with hierarchical structures, excellent mechanical properties, and biological performance[56, 57]. Such scaffolds provide a three-dimensional microenvironment for growth and migration of cells derived from diverse sources that have the potential to differentiate into chondrocytes [5]. Numerous scaffolds have been investigated for cartilage reconstruction, among which the polymeric materials attracted significant attention, primarily in forms of sponges, fibrous meshes, and hydrogels. The injectable thermosensitive hydrogels can easily fill the cartilage defect with irregular shape and be transplanted by a minimally invasive procedure. More importantly, the cells could be suspended homogenously within thermogels in a sol state and proliferate without loss of differentiation potential [58]. Hydrogels simulate physiological ECM surrounding chondrocytes and transmit external stress to cells encapsulated in gels. After sol-to-gel transition, hydrogels also obtain certain mechanical strength, although such mechanics are limited. In addition, the defect of cartilage is often accompanied by the damage of subchondral bone, hence the repair of subchondral bone is key to cartilage regeneration. We employed the HAC scaffold to repair the bone defects in the previous study. Thereby, a composite scaffold consisting of HAC and PLGA-PEG-PLGA thermogel was produced to repair the osteochondral defect in this study. The repair requirements for articular cartilage and subchondral bone are different owing to their distinct physiological features and functions. Our results show that it was feasible to reconstruct cartilage and subchondral bone by two types of materials, which were suitable for repairing cartilage and bone, respectively.
Biophysical stimulations exert significant effects on cellular behavior, and some have been applied in clinical practice [59]. In addition to chemical factors, physical signals also play a regulatory role in the development and regeneration of bone and cartilage. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) for the treatment of delayed union and nonunion of bone fractures. Although increasing evidence suggested that PEMF could be an alternative therapy for cartilage repair, clinical application of PEMF in joints is still debated and more research is needed [60]. A narrative review summarized the current research involving the effect of EMF on articular cartilage and potential application in joint diseases [38]. The stimulation of PEMF could increase intracellular calcium concentration by regulating calcium channels, which are required for the chondrogenic differentiation of MSCs [31]. When the parameters of EMF were tuned to the cyclotron resonance frequencies of calcium ions, Kavand et al. reported an enhanced efficacy of chondrogenesis [33]. Recently, one study showed that the MSC-derived conditioned medium post EMF exposure was also capable to promote cartilage regeneration and demonstrated that EMF could regulate the paracrine function of MSCs [36]. Previous studies have shown that Wnt1/β-catenin signaling pathway is regulated by EMF in osteogenesis and bone metabolism [61, 62]. Based on our results in this study, we further verified that EMF could also facilitate chondrogenic differentiation and contribute to improving cartilage repair by activating the Wnt1/LRP6/β-catenin pathway.
The cell proliferation as well as ECM synthesis are both crucial in the cartilage regeneration. The positive effect of EMF on cell proliferation has been observed in various cell types, such as MSCs [63], chondrocytes [64], and osteoblasts.[65] Consistently with previous results, our study further demonstrated that EMF could promote proliferation of BMSCs by upregulating PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway. Nevertheless, some studies indicate that EMF has no effects on cell proliferation[66, 67].The cell types and EMF parameters may together account for these inconsistent results. More importantly, the cartilage defects would cause joint inflammation, which in turn exacerbates cartilage deterioration. Breaking this vicious cycle will significantly contribute to cartilage repair. Numerous studies have elaborated on the possible mechanisms that EMF alleviates inflammatory response. For instance, the anti-inflammatory effect of EMF appeared to be mediated by increasing adenosine receptors like A2A and A3 [68–70]. In mice with osteoarthritis (OA), EMF inhibited the expression of inflammatory cytokines, including IL-1β, ADAMTS4, and MMP13 [71]. Moreover, the effects of EMF on inflammation and underlying mechanisms have been systematically reviewed in terms of OA [72] or RA [39]. Although the application of EMF to treat OA or RA must be verified by more clinical trials with long-term follow-up, it is also one of the possible mechanisms by which EMF enhances cartilage repair.
For tissue repair, there have been many preclinical and clinical studies on the role of EMF in bone repair, while only few addressed cartilage regeneration [37, 73]. A review depicted the potential benefits of EMF in cartilage repair [70]. To develop therapeutic strategy combined with EMF, it is necessary to optimize EMF parameters, such as the waveform, field direction, intensity, frequency, and time of exposure. However, the combinations of above parameters are theoretically innumerable, and there is no experiment design that can cover all these parameters. Thus, the community of EMF research must focus on unveiling the underlying laws and mechanisms, by which EMF exerts its biological effects. Moreover, the type of recipient cells or tissues stimulated by EMF is another essential factor that affects the quality of tissue repair [74]. With the advances of novel physical stimulus modalities, the application of EMF in medicine will be further broadened, and this effect will be reinforced. Several studies have introduced magnetic beads that can feel the force of EMF to biological culture system. Song et al. reported that the magnetic beads could promote cell proliferation driven by EMF. TGF-β-immobilized magnetic beads successfully induced MSCs to generate cartilage in vitro under magnetic forces [75, 76]. Moreover, EMF can operate without direct contact and thus enable extracorporeal control.
The articular cartilage defect is a common medical problem that severely affects the life quality of patients. The therapeutical strategies currently used in clinical practice relief associated symptoms and yield acceptable outcomes in the short term. However, the repaired cartilage was found to degrade during a long period of follow-up, as new-formed tissue was often fibrocartilage rather than hyaline-like cartilage [77]. Thus, the ambitious goal of cartilage repair is to regenerate hyaline cartilage with proper mechanical function and prevent long-term degradation. To the best of our knowledge, our study was the first to demonstrate that sinusoidal EMF can significantly improve cartilage regeneration when combined with tissue engineering. We also explored the underlying mechanisms and found that PI3K/AKT/mTOR and Wnt1/LRP6/β-catenin signaling pathways mediated the transduction of biological effects of EMF for cell proliferation and differentiation, respectively. Furthermore, the lateral integration of repair cartilage with adjacent native tissue was improved, which may further contribute to the effect of EMF on cartilage repair. Furthermore, EMF could also enhance bone repair, which has been extensively studied. In short, EMF plays an essential role in the repair of osteochondral defects, and more research is required to explore optimal parameters and underlying mechanisms, especially for cartilage regeneration. These encouraging results from our study can pave the way for the application of biophysical stimuli in clinical cartilage repair.