Bone Regeneration by Nanohydroxyapatite/Chitosan/Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) Scaffolds Seeded with Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells in the Calvarial Defects of the Nude Mice

Figure 3

HE-stained sections of calvarial defects at 4 weeks. (A) nHA/CS/PLGA scaffolds + hUCMSCs; (B) nHA/PLGA scaffolds + hUCMSCs; (C) CS/PLGA scaffolds + hUCMSCs; (D) PLGA scaffolds + hUCMSCs; (E) nHA/CS/PLGA scaffolds without seeding; (F) the control group (no scaffolds). (G), (H), (I), (J), and (K) were the enlarged photographs of the rectangular frames in (A), (B), (C), (D), and (E), respectively. The bone islands were scattered around and inside the scaffolds (A). The bone islands could be occasionally observed around the defects. The osteoid tissues could be found around and inside the defects (B, C, and D). However, in the group of nHA/CS/PLGA scaffolds without seeding, osteoid tissues were only found around the defects, and bone islands were not detected (E). No osteoid tissues or bone islands were observed in the control group (F). BI: bone islands, OT: osteoid tissues, and S: scaffolds. Original magnification (A–F): 50x. Original magnification (G–K): 300x.