Adult articular cartilage degenerates more and more with age and current treatments are incapable of long term success. As an alternative, tissue engineering research focuses on combining three dimensional materials, or scaffolds, with cells capable of regeneration, such as stem cells, and adequate therapeutic cues. Recently, the function of small, non-protein coding gene products called microRNAs has been shown to control key aspects of cartilage regeneration by stem cells. Although previous combinations of protein-coding genes with stem cells and scaffolds have shown some success, these strategies are improved by delivering combined cues to potentiate the tissue healing effect. Single microRNAs have the benefit of modulating entire blocks of protein-coding genes and result in a multiplicative effect. Thus, the potential of microRNAs as advantageous therapeutic cues to regenerate cartilage is worthy of investigation. The aim of this project is to assess the cartilage repair potential of 3 select microRNAs when combined with stem cells and collagen-based scaffolds tailored for this particular tissue type. The further development of the lead system identified from this study will contribute to the realisation of an advanced alternative for the treatment of cartilage defects.
