Evaluation of three growth factors for TMJ disc tissue engineering

Arguably one of the most complex joints in the body, the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) presents one of the most difficult problems in modern medicine. Tissue engineering, for the TMJ disc in particular, has been proposed as a potential breakthrough treatment strategy for TMJ disorders. Central to tissue engineering is understanding growth factor effects on TMJ disc cells, and to the best of our knowledge, this is the first 3D growth factor study for these cells. The purpose was to examine the effects of high and low concentrations of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF), and transforming growth factor-beta(1) (TGF-beta) on porcine TMJ disc cells. Cells were seeded onto non-woven PGA scaffolds (95% porosity) in spinner flasks, then cultured with a growth factor for 6 weeks. Constructs were analyzed for mechanical and structural integrity, cell number, and matrix biosynthesis. All growth factors improved mechanical and structural integrity compared to the control. IGF and TGF-beta were most effective at promoting collagen synthesis, although there were no significant differences in glycosaminoglycan synthesis or cell number between any groups. After considering the economic advantage of IGF over TGF-beta, the conclusion of this study is to use IGF in future TMJ disc tissue engineering experiments.