Soyasaponin Bb/Gelatin-Methacryloyl\nHydrogel for Cartilage\nInflammation Inhibition

The main causes of failure for cartilage tissue engineering\nimplants\nare tissue integration, inflammation, and infection. The development\nof biomaterials with antiforeign body response (FBR) is of particular\nimportance. Herein, we developed a hydrogel loaded with anti-inflammatory\ndrugs to reduce the inflammatory response that follows implantation.\nThe human chondrocytes were used for in vitro study, and cell-laden\nhydrogel samples were implanted with the backs of rabbits for in vivo\nstudy. Soyasaponin Bb (SsBb) as a traditional Chinese medicine could\nsignificantly (<i>P</i> < 0.05) downregulate the expression\nlevels of inflammation-related markers including iNOS, COX-2, and\nIL-6 in chondrocytes induced by IL-1β through the NF-κB\nsignaling pathway. The in vitro experiments demonstrated that a gelatin-methacryloyl\n(GelMA) hydrogel loaded with SsBb (SsBb/GelMA) could similarly reduce\nthe gene and protein expression levels of inflammation-related markers\n(iNOS, COX-2, and IL-6). The in vivo anti-inflammatory effects of\nthe SsBb/GelMA hydrogels were assessed by immunohistochemical staining.\nThe results demonstrated that SsBb/GelMA hydrogels inhibited the inflammatory\nresponse and downregulated the expression of the inflammatory cytokine\nIL-6. Therefore, SsBb/GelMA hydrogels are promising candidates for\npromoting anti-inflammation and cartilage tissue regeneration of implant\nsurfaces.