Effectiveness of mesenchymal stem cell-seeded onto the 3D polylactic acid/polycaprolactone/hydroxyapatite scaffold on the radius bone defect in rat.

Abstract Purpose The importance of regeneration in large bone defects forces the orthopedic surgeons to search for a proper methodology. The present experiment evaluated the capability of polylactic acid/polycaprolactone/hydroxyapatite (PLA/PCL/HA) scaffold loaded with and without mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on bone regeneration. Methods Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and rheology methodologies were used to characterize the scaffold. Forty Wistar rats were randomly divided into the four groups including the untreated defects as the control group and three other groups in which the bone defects were treated with autologous bones (autograft group), the PLA/PCL/HA scaffolds (PLA/PCL/HA group), and the MSCs-seeded scaffolds (MSCs-seeded PLA/PCL/HA group). Results Based on the qRT-PCR results, significantly higher expression levels of osteocalcin, osteopontin, and CD31 were seen in the cell-seeded scaffold group compared to the control group (P  Conclusion The MSCs enhanced bone healing potential of the PLA/PCL/HA scaffold and the MSCs-seeded scaffold was comparable to the autograft as the golden treatment regimen (P > 0.05).