Enhanced hyaline cartilage formation and continuous osteochondral regeneration via 3D-Printed heterogeneous hydrogel with multi-crosslinking inks

The unique gradient structure and complex composition of osteochondral tissue pose significant challenges in defect regeneration. Restoration of tissue heterogeneity while maintaining hyaline cartilage components has been a difficulty of an osteochondral tissue graft. A novel class of multi-crosslinked polysaccharide-based three-dimensional (3D) printing inks, including decellularized natural cartilage (dNC) and nano-hydroxyapatite, was designed to create a gradient scaffold with a robust interface-binding force. Herein, we report combining a dual-nozzle cross-printing technology and a gradient crosslinking method to create the scaffolds, demonstrating stable mechanical properties and heterogeneous bilayer structures. Biofunctional assessments revealed the remarkable regenerative effects of the scaffold, manifesting three orders of magnitude of mRNA upregulation during chondrogenesis and the formation of pure hyaline cartilage. Transcriptomics of the regeneration site in vivo and scaffold cell interaction tests in vitro showed that printed porous multilayer scaffolds could form the correct tissue structure for cell migration. More importantly, polysaccharides with dNC provided a hydrophilic microenvironment. The microenvironment is crucial in osteochondral regeneration because it could guide the regenerated cartilage to ensure the hyaline phenotype.