Anti-osteoarthritis effects of injectable hyaluronic acid hydrogel loaded with platelet lysate and cerium oxide nanoparticle by regulating TNF-α: An in vitro model

The most prevalent type of joint illness is osteoarthritis, also known as OA. The inflammation of the joint is strongly linked to both the beginning and the progression of osteoarthritis. The use of hydrogels as an OA treatment has the potential to go beyond the administration of anti-inflammatory components to have an inherent immunomodulatory role. Platelet lysate (PL) contains a cocktail of growth factors that actively participates in cartilage repair. Moreover, cerium oxide-nanoparticles (CeO2-NPs) have been broadly studied owing to their powerful antioxidant properties and potential preventive and therapeutic effects against chronic diseases. The current study was designed to determine the effect and mechanism of injectable hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel loaded with PL and CeO2-NPs on OA. The results showed that the obtained PL and synthesized CeO2-NPs were effectively incorporated into HA hydrogel and the resultant hydrogel was injectable and have a porous micro structure with interconnected pores. The biological evaluation by qPCR revealed that the fabricated hydrogel exhibited a significantly increased expression of Col2 and Aggrecan (TNF-α-suppressed anabolic molecules) and decreased expression of Col10, Mmp13, Adamts5, and Adamts9 (TNF-α-activated catabolic molecules). Also, ELISA results confirmed this potent antioxidant activity of hydrogel and also increased the growth of chondrocytes over the culturing period.