Use of the second harmonic generation microscopy to evaluate chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells for cartilage repair
2012
Articular cartilage injury remains one of the major concerns in orthopedic surgery. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)
transplantation has been introduced to avoid some of the side effects and complications of current techniques.. With the
aim to evaluate chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells, we used Second Harmonic Generation (SHG)
microscopy to analyze the aggregation and orientation of collagen fibrils in the hyaline cartilage of rabbit knees. The
experiment was performed using implants with type II collagen hydrogel (a biomaterial that mimics the
microenvironment of the cartilage), one implant containing MSC and one other without MSC (control). After 10 weeks,
the rabbit knees were dissected and fibril collagen distribution and spatial organization in the extracellular matrix of the
lesions were verified by SHG. The result showed significant differences, whereas in histological sections of the
cartilaginous lesions with MSC the collagen fibers are organized and regular; in the control sections the collagen fibers
are more irregular, with absence of cells. A macroscopic analysis of the lesions confirmed this difference, showing a
greater percentage of lesions filling in knees treated with MSC than in the knees used as controls. This study
demonstrates that SHG microscopy will be an excellent tool to help in the evaluation of the effectiveness of MSC-based
cell therapy for cartilage repair.
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