Development of a scaffold-free based annulus fibrosus in tissue engineering

• Main Author: Tan, Jin Rong
• Other Authors: Wang Dongan
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/68191
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Tissue engineering has emerged to become one of the most promising solutions to the organ shortage crisis. Traditional tissue engineering depends heavily on the tissue engineering triad of cells, signals and scaffolds in the construction of functional tissue. While it has the potential of producing three-dimensional tissues and organ, the use of biodegradable scaffold raises concern on potential inflammatory response especially after in vivo implantation. Cell sheet engineering was later conceived, bringing about a paradigm shift in the field of tissue engineering. Primarily, cell sheet engineering focuses on the application of two-dimensional tissues, in the form of monolayer cell sheets, for regenerative purposes. Building on this fundamental technology, the project aims to engineer a three-dimensional annulus fibrosus-like tissue possessing distinctive native components. The two characteristic features of native annulus, concentric lamellae of collagen and alignment of collagen fibers that alternates with each successive lamella, were successfully incorporated into the constructed annulus fibrosus. The multi-lamellar feature was retained and observed even after a period of culture in the three dimensional configuration and the tissue tested positive for collagen 1, collagen 2, aggrecan and SOX-9. The annulus tissue, with alignment of cells, had a significantly higher level of collagen 2, aggrecan and SOX-9. The pattern in the distribution of these extracellular matrix proteins were however lacking in this study, indicating a need for further refinement before translating to clinical application.