Immunomodulatory PEG-CRGD Hydrogels Promote Chondrogenic Differentiation of PBMSCs

Cartilage damage is a common injury. Currently, tissue engineering scaffolds with composite seed cells have emerged as a promising approach for cartilage repair. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) hydrogels are attractive tissue engineering scaffold materials as they have high water absorption capacity as well as nontoxic and nutrient transport properties. However, PEG is fundamentally bio-inert and lacks intrinsic cell adhesion capability, which is critical for the maintenance of cell function. Cell adhesion peptides are usually added to improve the cell adhesion capability of PEG-based hydrogels. The suitable cell adhesion peptide can not only improve cell adhesion capability, but also promote chondrogenesis and regulate the immune microenvironment. To improve the interactions between cells and PEG hydrogels, we designed cysteine-arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (CRGD), a cell adhesion peptide covalently cross-linked with PEG hydrogels by a Michael addition reaction, and explored the tissue-engineering hydrogels with immunomodulatory effects and promoted chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The results indicated that CRGD improved the interaction between peripheral blood mesenchymal stem cells (PBMSCs) and PEG hydrogels. PEG hydrogels modified with 1 mM CRGD had the optimal capacity to promote chondrogenic differentiation, and CRGD could induce macrophage polarization towards the M2 phenotype to promote tissue regeneration and repair. PEG-CRGD hydrogels combined with PBMSCs have the potential to be suitable scaffolds for cartilage tissue engineering.