role of differentiated osteogenic cells-loaded biodegradable pla-pcl-ha scaffold in healing of a critical-size defect in rat

The importance of bone regeneration in critical bone defects forces the orthopedic surgeons to search for a proper methodology. the goal of the present experiment was to evaluate the capability of polylactic acid/polycaprolactone/hydroxyapatite scaffold loaded with and without differentiated osteogenic cells on bone regeneration. compression test, scanning electron microscopy, porosity evaluation, degradability, and rheology methodologies were used to characterize the scaffold. forty male wistar rats were divided into the 4 following random groups: the untreated defect, autograft, scaffold, cell-seeded scaffold. the defects were created by a electerical bone saw on the radial bone and the ulna bone remained intact. a suitable enviroment was provided by the proper porosity and pore size of the scaffold for viability of the cells according to the neutral red test. after 40 and 80 days post-operation, all rats were euthanized and the cts and radiographic images depicted significantly more newly formed bonny tissue in the cell-scaffold and autograft groups compared to the control group (p<0.001). biomechanical estimation demonstrated significantly higher stress (p<0.01), stiffness (p<0.001), and ultimate load (p<0.01) in the autograft and cell-seeded scaffold groups compared to the untreated group and higher strain was seen in the control group than the other groups (p<0.01). the histopathology findings and histomorphometric evaluation demonstrated that the cell-seeded scaffold and autograft groups had the highest degree of new bone formation in comparison to other groups (p<0.01). the immunohistochemistry showed the significant difference between the scaffold and cell-seeded scaffold groups with the control group via oc and cd31 (p<0.05). pla/pcl/ha had a suitable capacity on bone healing, addition of cell loaded on this scaffold resulted in enhanced bone regeneration potential which was comparable to the golden standard treatment.