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et al. ( 2014 ), a bioactive scaffold capable of mediating cell differentiation and for-
mation of an extracellular matrix that mimics the mechanical properties of native
tissues was developed for replacement of musculoskeletal tissue. Lentiviruses (LV)
were used to deliver gene therapy to the stem cells, directing their differentiation,
into a synthetic material, the scaffold, which serves as a template for tissue growth.
LV drove overexpression of TGF-β3-inducing chondrogenesis, and poly- L -lysine
(PLL) was used to functionalise polycaprolactone with LV, as PLL-coated biomate-
rials effectively immobilise viruses within and enable effi cient transduction of cells.
The results obtained demonstrate that scaffold-mediated transduction of human
mesenchymal stem cells using LV vectors, causing expression of TGF-β3, leads to
chondrocyte differentiation and formation of a cartilage like extracellular matrix.
Using such an approach solves the challenges faced in expansion and conditioning
of cell ex vivo by allowing the host’s own cells to recapitulate functional tissues
after penetrating the bioactive scaffold (Brunger et al. 2014 ).
Fig. 9.7 Schematic representation of the mechanism for encapsulated islets
D.M. Kalaskar and S.M. Shahid