Chondrogenesis of cocultures of mesenchymal stem cells and articular chondrocytes in poly(l-lysine)-loaded hydrogels

This work investigated the effect of poly(l-lysine) (PLL) molecular weight and concentration on chondrogenesis of cocultures of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and articular chondrocytes (ACs) in PLL-loaded hydrogels. An injectable dual-network hydrogel composed of a poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-based synthetic thermogelling macromer and a chondroitin sulfate-based biological network was leveraged as a model to deliver PLL and encapsulate the two cell populations. Incorporation of PLL into the hydrogel did not affect the hydrogel's swelling properties and degradation characteristics, nor the viability of encapsulated cells. Coculture groups demonstrated higher type II collagen expression compared to the MSC monoculture group. Expression of hypertrophic phenotype was also limited in the coculture groups. Histological analysis indicated that the ratio of MSCs to ACs was an accurate predictor of the degree of long-term chondrogenesis, while the presence of PLL was shown to have a more substantial short-term effect. Altogether, this study demonstrates that coculturing MSCs with ACs can greatly enhance the chondrogenicity of the overall cell population and offers a platform to further elucidate the short- and long-term effect of polycationic factors on the chondrogenesis of MSC and AC cocultures. [Display omitted] •Coculturing mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) with chondrocytes enhanced the chondrogenic differentiation of MSCs in vitro.•The presence of chondrocytes limited the expression of hypertrophic genes from MSCs.•Loaded poly(l-lysine) in the hydrogel transiently affected the gene expression profiles of the encapsulated cell populations.•The extent of cartilage-like matrix secretion depended on the coculture ratio.