Migration and Chondrogenesis of Cells from Minced Nasal Cartilage in Type I Collagen Hydrogel: A Workflow for One-Step Engineering of Injectable Grafts

TL;DR

Researchers explored using nasal cartilage as a source for injectable cartilage grafts to repair joint damage, finding it effective and promising for clinical use.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel workflow for engineering injectable grafts using nasal septal cartilage as an alternative to articular cartilage.

Findings

NSC fragments in collagen hydrogel showed robust cellular outgrowth and matrix deposition.

NSC fragments with P188 produced more cartilaginous matrix compared to other fragmentation methods.

The protocol is viable for clinically relevant graft volumes using 1 mL hydrogel.

Abstract

Articular cartilage (AC) damage heals poorly and can progress to osteoarthritis. Implantation of AC fragments (Minced Cartilage Implantation, MCI) is a promising one-step repair technique but is constrained by the limited availability of healthy AC. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of MCI using nasal septal cartilage (NSC) as an alternative source of hyaline tissue with strong regenerative capacity. NSC obtained from rhinoplasties was decontaminated using a novel protocol, minced with or without Poloxamer 188 (P188), embedded in collagen I gel (0.5 mL per sample), and cultured for 42 days in platelet-rich plasma (PRP)-supplemented medium. The decontamination procedure with a combination of antibiotics was effective and did not impair cell viability. Histology of the resulting constructs confirmed robust cellular outgrowth and matrix deposition. Tissues produced from NSC and fragmented with P188 contained more cartilaginous matrix than those from NSC fragmented without P188 and those from AC fragmented with P188. NSC fragments embedded in a 1 mL hydrogel, sufficient for clinically relevant defect volumes, also demonstrated strong outgrowth and satisfactory matrix formation. Overall, the developed protocol supports the use of NSC as a viable tissue source in gel-based, injectable MCI grafts for focal cartilage repair.

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