Fig. 7
From: Combinatorial hydrogels with biochemical gradients for screening 3D cellular microenvironments
Discrete hydrogels with high HAV and low RGD enhance neocartilage formation by MSCs in vitro. a Overview of discrete hydrogel study where mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were photoencapsulated in norbornene-modified hyaluronic acid (NorHA) hydrogels and then biofunctionalized with a 5 mM peptide solution consisting of either “Chondro(+)” (4.5 mM HAV and 0.5 mM RGD) or “Chondro(−)” (4.5 mM RGD and 0.5 mM HAV) peptide formulations, and assayed for early (3-day) and long-term (56-day) gene expression and neocartilage formation, respectively. b Gene expression of SOX9 and ACAN (aggrecan) after 3 days for MSCs in Chondro(+) and Chondro(−) hydrogels (n = 4 hydrogels per group). c Quantification and d images of histology and immunohistochemistry for glycosaminoglycan (GAG) and type II collagen (Col II) after 56 days (n > 50 sections per group). Error bars represent standard error around the mean (s.e.m.); ***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05 compared to the Chondro(−) condition. Scale bars: 100 µm
