Effects of hesperidin loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) scaffolds on growth behavior of costal cartilage cells in vitro and in vivo

It has been widely accepted that costal cartilage cells (CCs) have more excellent initial proliferation capacity than articular cartilage cells. Biodegradable synthetic polymer poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) was approved by Food and Drug Administration. Hesperidin has antifungal, antiviral, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticarcinogenic properties. Hesperidin loaded (0, 3, 5, and 10 wt.%) PLGA scaffolds were prepared and in vitro and in vivo properties were characterized. Scaffolds were seeded with CCs isolated from rabbit, which were kept in culture to harvest for histological analysis. Hesperidin/PLGA scaffolds were also implanted in nude mice for 7 and 28 days. Assays of 2-(2-methoxy-4-nitrophenyl)-3-(4-nitrophenyl)-5-(2,4-disulfo-phenyl)- 2H-tetrazolium, monosodium salt (WST), and scanning electron microscope were carried out to evaluate attachment and proliferation of CCs in hesperidin/PLGA scaffolds. Glycosaminoglycan assay was performed to confirm the effects of hesperidin on extracellular matrix formation. Reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was carried out to confirm the expression of the specific genes for CCs. In these results, we demonstrated that cell attachment and proliferation on hesperidin/PLGA scaffolds were more excellent compared with on PLGA scaffold. Specially, 5 wt.% hesperidin/PLGA scaffold represented the best results among other scaffolds. Thus, 5 wt.% hesperidin/PLGA scaffold will be applicable to tissue engineering cartilage.