Bi-compartmental 3D scaffolds for the co-culture of intervertebral disk cells and mesenchymal stem cells

•Bi-compartmental 3D scaffolds consisting of nanofiber and hydrogel were developed.•hMSCs and IVD cells was localized into each compartment within the scaffold.•Co-culture system facilitated the induction of hMSCs into IVD-like phenotype.

The combination of electrospinning and the subsequent gelation of alginate produced bi-compartmental hydrogel consisting of a nanofiber-incorporated hydrogel matrix domain and a bare alginate hydrogel domain. The co-culture system was prepared by placing intervertebral disk (IVD) cells in the bare alginate hydrogel and human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) in the nanofiber-incorporated hydrogel. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), western blotting, immunofluorescence staining, and sulfated glycosaminoglycan assays revealed that the co-cultured groups produced more collagen type II, aggrecan, glucose transporter-1 (GLUT-1), and glycosaminoglycans (GAG) than the single-cultured hMSCs, confirming the enhanced differentiation of hMSCs in the co-culture system. It is expected that our bi-compartmental 3D scaffold can be applied to heterotypic co-culture systems for the study of various cell–cell interactions.

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