Cartilage regenerative material

Abstract

An object of the invention is to provide a cartilage regenerative material that is capable of regenerating bone and cartilage using cells. Provided is a cartilage regenerative material including a cell construct, which includes biocompatible polymer blocks and stem cells, in which a plurality of the biocompatible polymer blocks are disposed in gaps between a plurality of the stem cells.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cartilage regenerative material comprising:
 a cell construct that includes biocompatible polymer blocks and stem cells, the cell construct having a plurality of the biocompatible polymer blocks disposed in gaps between a plurality of the stem cells.   
     
     
         2 . The cartilage regenerative material according to  claim 1 , for use in regeneration of cartilage and bone. 
     
     
         3 . The cartilage regenerative material according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the stem cells are mesenchymal stem cells.   
     
     
         4 . The cartilage regenerative material according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the cell construct includes the biocompatible polymer blocks in an amount of from 0.0000001 μg to 1 μg per stem cell.   
     
     
         5 . The cartilage regenerative material according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the size of each of the biocompatible polymer blocks is from 10 μm to 300 μm.   
     
     
         6 . The cartilage regenerative material according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the cell construct has a thickness or diameter of from 100 μm to 1 cm.   
     
     
         7 . The cartilage regenerative material according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the biocompatible polymer blocks are formed from a recombinant peptide or a chemically synthesized peptide.   
     
     
         8 . The cartilage regenerative material according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the biocompatible polymer blocks are formed from a recombinant gelatin or a chemically synthesized gelatin.   
     
     
         9 . The cartilage regenerative material according to  claim 8 ,
 wherein the recombinant gelatin or the chemically synthesized gelatin is represented by Formula 1,
   A-[(Gly-X-Y) n ] m -B  Formula 1:
 
   in Formula 1, n units of X each independently represent any amino acid residue; n units of Y each independently represent any amino acid residue; m represents an integer from 2 to 10; n represents an integer from 3 to 100; A represents an arbitrary amino acid residue or amino acid sequence; and B represents an arbitrary amino acid residue or amino acid sequence.   
     
     
         10 . The cartilage regenerative material according to  claim 8 ,
 wherein the recombinant gelatin or the chemically synthesized gelatin is any one of the following:   a peptide comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:1;   a peptide having biocompatibility and comprising an amino acid sequence obtained by modifying the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:1 by deletion, substitution or addition of one or several amino acid residues; and   a peptide having biocompatibility and comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 80% sequence identity with the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:1.   
     
     
         11 . The cartilage regenerative material according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein biocompatible polymers in the biocompatible polymer blocks are crosslinked by heat, ultraviolet radiation, or an enzyme.   
     
     
         12 . The cartilage regenerative material according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the biocompatible polymer blocks are in the form of granules obtainable by pulverizing a porous body of a biocompatible polymer.   
     
     
         13 . A cartilage regenerative material comprising:
 the cartilage regenerative material according to  claim 1 ; and   a biocompatible polymer film.   
     
     
         14 . The cartilage regenerative material according to  claim 13 ,
 wherein the biocompatible polymer film is a film for isolating a portion or the entirety of the transplant face of the cell construct from the site of transplantation.