The effect of galectin-1 (GALT) on the growth of immortal rat chondrocyte (IRC) on chitosan-modified PLGA scaffold is investigated. The experimental results showed that water absorption ratio of chitosan-modified PLGA scaffold was 70% higher than that of PLGA alone after immersion in ddH(2)O for 2 weeks, indicating that chitosan-modification significantly enhances the hydrophilicity of PLGA. The experimental results also showed that GAL1 efficiently and spontaneously coats the chitosan-PLGA scaffold surface to promote adhesion and growth of immortal rat chondrocyte (IRC). To investigate the effect of endogenous GALL the full-length GALT cDNAs were cloned and constructed into pcDNA3.1 vectors to generate a plasmid expressed in IRC (IRC-GAL1). The results showed that IRC-GAL1 growth was significantly higher than that of IRC on chitosan-PLGA scaffold. The GALT-potentiated IRC growth on chitosan-PLGA scaffold was dose-dependently inhibited by TDG (specific inhibitor of GALT binding). These results strongly suggest that GALT is critical for enhancing IRC cell adhesion and growth on chitosan-PLGA scaffold. Moreover, GAL1-coating or expression tends to promote IRC cell cell aggregation on chitosan-PLGA scaffold and significantly enhances IRC migration. These results suggest that GALT probably could induce tissue differentiation and facilitates cartilage reconstruction. In conclusion, the experimental results suggest that both GAL1 and chitosan are important for enhancing IRC cell adhesion and growth on PLGA scaffold, and GALT is a potential biomaterial for tissue engineering. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 93A: 1482-1492, 2010
