Enhancement of chondrogenic differentiation of human articular chondrocytes by biodegradable polymers.

Biodegradable polymers are attractive candidates for chondrocyte embedding and transplantation in cartilage tissue engineering. In an attempt to determine the effects of a variety of biodegradable materials on cartilage proliferation and extracellular matrix production, poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) with a molecular weight of 5,000, polyglycolic acid (PGA) with a molecular weight of 3,000, and copolymer of poly(L-lactic acid-glycolic acid) 50:50 (PLGA) with a molecular weight of 5,000, were dissolved in DMSO and added into the medium for 4 weeks in in vitro high-density micromass culture of multiplied human articular chondrocytes (HAC). PLLA with a molecular weight of 270,000 (PLAO3) was used as thin film. Cell proliferation and differentiation in these biomaterials were compared with tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS) as a control. Alamar blue and alcian blue staining were carried out to determine the chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation, respectively. Samples exposed to these biomaterials promoted cell proliferation in the range of 86-105% of the control proliferation, and a slight but significant increase in cell proliferation was noted only in the culture exposed to PLGA. The sample exposed to PGA elicited a significant 3.7-fold higher (p < 0.01) cell differentiation than controls and was significantly higher than that of the samples exposed to PLLA, PLAO3, and PLGA. After 4 weeks of culture, the cell differentiation from most to least was in the following order PGA > PLAO3 > PLGA = PLLA > Cont. = DMSO. Chondrocyte differentiation of the samples exposed to various biomaterials were significantly higher compared with controls. Thus, serially passage chondrocytes are competent for cell growth and quantifiable matrix production, and biodegradable polymers, especially PGA, hold promise as suitable substrates for scaffolding materials for human cartilage tissue engineering.     

Biodegradable polymers in chondrogenesis of human articular chondrocytes

The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential role of polyglycolic acid (PGA), poly(glycolic acid-ε-caprolactone) (PGCL), poly(l-lactic acid-glycolic acid) (PLGA), poly(l-lactic acid-ε-caprolactone, 75:25 (w/w)) [P(LA-CL)25], poly-ε-caprolactone (tetrabutoxy titanium) [PCL(Ti)], and fullerene C-60 dimalonic acid (DMA) in cartilage transplants. After 4 weeks of culture of human articular cartilage, the levels of cell proliferation and differentiation and the expression of cartilage-specific matrix genes were estimated. The relationship between cell differentiation and gap junction protein connexin 43 (Cx43) was also evaluated. All materials except PCL(Ti) retained cell proliferation activities similar to the controls. Cell differentiation levels from the highest to the lowest were in the following order: PGA >> PLGA > PGCL > Control = DMSO > P(LA-CL)25 = PCL(Ti) >> fullerene C-60 DMA. Expression of the collagen type II gene was selectively upregulated for PGA, PGCL, and PLGA and slightly increased for P(LA-CL)25 polymers but was downregulated for fullerene C-60 DMA. Aggrecan gene expression was strongest with PGA and was consistently expressed with other matrices, especially with PGCL and PLGA. However, the expression patterns of the connexin 43 gene were different from the former two genes. Multiple regression analysis revealed a high correlation between cartilage proteoglycans production and expression levels of these three genes. The first two authors contributed equally to this work     

Human platelet supernatant promotes proliferation but not differentiation of articular chondrocytes

The objective of the study was to evaluate the growth-promoting activity of human platelet supernanant on primary chondrocytes in comparison with fetal calf serum (FCS) supplemented cell culture medium. Furthermore, the differentiation potential of platelet supernatant was determined in three-dimensional artificial cartilage tissues of bovine articular chondrocytes. Proliferation of articular and nasal septal chondrocytes was assayed by incorporation of BrdU upon stimulation with ten different batches of human platelet supernatant. On bovine articular chondrocytes, all these batches were at least as growth-promoting as FCS. On nasal septal chondrocytes, nine out of ten batches revealed increased or equivalent mitogenic stimulation compared with medium supplemented with FCS. Three-dimensional culture and subsequent histological analysis of matrix formation were used to determine the differentiation properties of platelet supernatant on articular chondrocytes. Human platelet supernatant failed to induce the deposition of typical cartilage matrix components, whereas differentiation and matrix formation were apparent upon cultivation of articular chondrocytes with FCS. Proliferation assays demonstrated that human platelet supernatant stimulates growth of articular and nasal septal chondrocytes; however, platelet supernatant failed to stimulate articular chondrocytes to redifferentiate in three-dimensional chondrocyte cultures. Therefore platelet lysate may be suitable for chondrocyte expansion, but not for maturation of tissue-engineered cartilage.     

Explant culture of human and rabbit articular chondrocytes.

Copious outgrowth of chondrocytes was obtained by explantation from each of three rabbit and one surgically-resected human articular cartilages pretreated briefly with trypsin. In lapine explants, ascorbate (40 micrograms/ml) increased DNA three-fold over control values and resulted in deposition of a chondroid matrix. It doubled radiosulfate incorporation by the outgrowths. Up to 56% of the sulfated glycosaminoglycan synthesized was located in the trypsin-digestible pericellular coat compared with about 15% in previous monolayer cultures. The collagens synthesized were characterized partially. In rabbit cell cultures, the alpha 1:alpha 2 ratio varied from 2.9 to 3.8. In human cultures, an unusual post-alpha 2 peak was observed. The findings suggest an uncoupling of the phenotypic expression of the major cartilaginous macromolecules in the cultures. There were no distinctive differences between chondrocytes derived from normal and fibrillated human cartilage of the same individual.     

Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound affects human articular chondrocytes in vitro

We investigated whether low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) stimulates chondrocyte proliferation and matrix production in explants of human articular cartilage obtained from donors suffering from unicompartimental osteoarthritis of the knee, as well as in isolated human chondrocytes in vitro. Chondrocytes and explants were exposed to LIPUS (30 mW/cm²; 20 min/day, 6 days). Stimulation of [³⁵S]-sulphate incorporation into proteoglycans by LIPUS was 1.3-fold higher in degenerative than in collateral monolayers as assessed biochemically and 1.9-fold higher in explants as assessed by autoradiography. LIPUS decreased the number of cell nests containing 1–3 chondrocytes by 1.5 fold in collateral and by 1.6 fold in degenerative explants. LIPUS increased the number of nests containing 4–6 chondrocytes by 4.8 fold in collateral and by 3.9 fold in degenerative explants. This suggests that LIPUS stimulates chondrocyte proliferation and matrix production in chondrocytes of human articular cartilage in vitro. LIPUS might provide a feasible tool for cartilage tissue repair in osteoarthritic patients, since it stimulates chondrocyte proliferation and matrix production. C. M. Korstjens and R. H. H. van der Rijt are first authors.     

Effect of stratified culture compared to confluent culture in monolayer on proliferation and differentiation of human articular chondrocytes

With conventional tissue culture of cells, it is generally assumed that when the available 2D substrate is fully occupied, growth ceases or is greatly reduced.However, in nature wound repair mostly involves proliferation of cells that are attracted to the defect site in a 3D environment.Hence, proliferation continues in 3D until the defect site is filled with cells contributing to repair tissue.With this in mind,we examined the growth behavior of human articular chondrocytes during stratified culture as opposed to routine culture to confluency. Additionally, we studied the influence of growth factors on proliferation during stratified culture and differentiation thereafter. Chondrocytes were cultured in monolayer on tissue culture plastic to confluency or stratified for an additional 7 days. Culture medium was based on DMEM with 10% serum and either supplemented with high concentrations of nonessential amino acids (NEAA) and ascorbic acid (AsAP), or instead with basic fibroblastic growth factor (bFGF), platelet-derived growth factor (PDBF-BB), and/or transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-beta). After expansion, cells were harvested, counted, and their differentiation capacity was examined in pellet culture assay. It was shown that chondrocytes, cultured stratified proliferate exponentially for up to an additional 4 days and that cell yield increased 5-fold. Furthermore, during stratified culture the number of cells increased further in the presence of bFGF, PDBF-BB, and TGFbeta1 or high concentrations of NEAA and AsAP. Depending on donor variation and factors supplemented the cell yield ranged from 0.06 up to 1.1 million cells/cm2 at the second passage. During stratified culture in the presence of either bFGF and PDGF or high concentrations of NEAA and AsAP, exponential growth continued for up to 7 days. Finally, cells maintained their differentiation capacity when cultured stratified with or without growth factors (bFGF, TGF-beta, and PDGF), but not when cultured with high levels of AsAP and NEAA. In contrast to other 3D culture techniques like microcarrier or suspension culture, nutrient consumption remained the same as with conventional expansion. Because this allows culturing of clinically relevant amounts of chondrocytes without increasing the amount of serum, chondrocytes can be fully expanded in the presence autologous serum, avoiding the risk of viral and/or prion disease transmission associated with the use of animal-derived serum or serum replacers with animal-derived constituents.     

Metabolic effects of X-ray irradiation on adult human articular chondrocytes

There have been few reports regarding the metabolic effects of X-ray irradiation on adult human articular chondrocytes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether exposure to X-ray irradiation during tumor surgery can cause impaired metabolism in adult articular cartilage. To achieve this we exposed cultured chondrocytes isolated from normal or degenerated cartilage to varying doses of X-ray irradiation, then measured apoptosis, and the production of chondroitin sulfates (CS), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in these cells. The number of apoptotic cells was not affected by irradiation in chondrocytes from normal or degenerated cartilage. Likewise, the production of C6S and C4S was not altered by irradiation in either group. The concentration of PGE2 in non-degenerated chondrocyte cultures did not change with radiation in a dose-dependent manner. However, the concentration of PGE2 in degenerated chondrocytes increased in a radiation dose-dependent manner. Irradiation at 10 Gy, in degenerated chondrocytes, induced remarkable activation of p38. This suggests that it is important to consider whether there is an osteoarthritic joint in the area that is to receive radiation therapy during tumor surgery.     

人脱细胞软骨细胞外基质对异种软骨种子细胞的影响

目的观察人脱细胞软骨细胞外基质(hACAM)对异种兔软骨种子细胞增殖和表型的影响。方法将差速梯度离心法制作的人脱细胞软骨细胞外基质,配制成0.5%的浆料,分别铺于6孔细胞培养板和96孔细胞培养板,形成1 mm厚的薄膜,以此培养板为实验组。空白对照组培养板仅使用单纯培养液培养。在培养板上培养兔关节软骨细胞。通过hochest33258染色验证人软骨细胞外基质脱细胞完全与否;分别在第5、15天两个时间点,通过倒置显微镜、甲苯胺蓝染色观察两种培养方法的兔软骨细胞的生长形态、细胞表型和增殖情况,用CCK-8细胞增殖实验比较两种培养方法在第1、3、7、10天的增殖情况。结果通过hochest33258染色发现差速梯度离心的人软骨细胞外基质脱细胞完全。通过倒置显微镜观察第5和15天的实验组细胞增殖情况优于空白对照组,甲苯胺蓝染色的结果也证明这个观点;CCK-8细胞增殖试验显示第7天hACAM组在细胞增殖方面明显地优于单纯培养液的对照组(P=0.0298),hACAM组的软骨细胞与空白组的软骨细胞在第10天的增殖情况相比没有统计学差异。结论 hACAM免疫原性低,无细胞毒性,能够很好地促进异种软骨细胞的增殖。     

单层培养的人关节软骨细胞生物学行为研究

目的：研究单层培养的人关节软骨细胞生物学行为的改变。方法：对来自8例手术切除负重关节非负重区的软骨细胞在10％DMEM中进行单层传代培养，观察细胞形态学、增殖细胞倍增时间（DT）、细胞Ⅱ型胶原免疫组织化学染色以及流式细胞分析细胞增殖指数（P1）和细胞凋亡。结果：随着传代次数的增加，（1）细胞形态由原代的多角形转变为第3、4代的短梭形、第8、9代的成纤维细胞形态；（2）DT在逐渐延长，P1在逐渐减小；（3）细胞分泌的Ⅱ型胶原逐渐减少；（4）细胞凋亡指数未见明显的改变（P〉0．05）。结论：体外单层培养的关节软骨细胞存在着失分化和老化，但第3、4代能较好地保持软骨细胞的生物学行为，可作为种子细胞的来源。     

Cilia in rat articular chondrocytes

The cilia ultrastructural characteristics of chondrocytes from articular cartilage during its prenatal development were studied. It was established that these structures are not rare in electron microscopic observation of cartilage. They appear in the early stages of differentiation of the mesenchymal cells into chondroblasts. Ultrastructurally they show no differences during all periods of development. In some of the tangential layer cells of the newly formed articular cartilage were discover elements of more than one cillium in the same cell. It was also established that these structures project from parts of the cell presenting well developed Golgy complex.     

Quantitative analysis of gene expression in human articular chondrocytes in monolayer culture

Human articular chondrocytes (HACs) were isolated from cartilage samples of normal joints and cultivated in monolayer for 56 days. Collagen type I, II, IX, aggrecan, and versican expression was quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The expression of the genes was highly time-dependent and changed over the culture time. Collagen type I was not present at the beginning of the culture and increased 100-fold during the culture time. Collagen type II and IX expression was found during the entire culture period and decreased more than 100-fold. Aggrecan expression was downregulated 100-fold whereas versican expression increased 10 times. Indices of cell differentiation, defined as ratios of collagen type II to I (CII/I), collagen type IX to I (CIX/I), and aggrecan to versican (Agg/Ver), were significantly higher at the beginning of the culture and decreased over the culture period. The CII/I and CIX/I ratios formed three phases, with a plateau at the beginning, followed by a transition phase and a steady state at the end of the culture time, whereas the Agg/Ver ratio declined constantly. The accurate quantitative assessment of extracellular matrix gene expression in samples of chondrocytes taken from monolayer culture can be used to monitor chondrocyte metabolism as well as changes in the cell differentiation status.     

Properties of cartilage engineered from elderly human chondrocytes for articular surface repair

Numerous studies on engineering cartilage utilizing chondrocytes from juvenile animal sources have been reported. However, there are many unknown aspects of engineering cartilage using human chondrocytes-especially from middle-aged or elderly adults-which are critical for clinical application of tissue engineering in the field of orthopedic surgery. The primary aim of this study was to engineer neocartilage tissue from 50-60-year-old human chondrocytes in comparison to engineered cartilage made from juvenile swine chondrocytes (JSCs). Articular chondrocytes from middle-aged, nonarthritic humans and juvenile swine were isolated and placed in culture for expansion. The chondrocytes (passage 1) were mixed in fibrin gel at 40-60×10(6) cells/mL until polymerization. Cells/nodule constructs and devitalized cartilage-cells/hydrogel-devitalized cartilage constructs (three-layered model) were implanted into subcutaneous pockets of nude mice for 12, 18, and 24 weeks. The specimens were evaluated histologically, biochemically, and biomechanically. This allowed for direct comparison of the cartilage engineered from human versus swine cells. Histological analysis demonstrated that samples engineered utilizing chondrocytes from middle-aged adults accumulated basophilic, sulfated glycosaminoglycans (sGAG), and abundant type II collagen around the cells in a manner similar to that seen in samples engineered using JSCs at all time points. Biochemical analysis revealed that samples made with human cells had about 40%-60% of the amount hydroxyproline of native human cartilage, a trend parallel to that observed in the specimens made with swine chondrocytes. The amount of sGAG in the human chondrocyte specimens was about one-and-a-half times the amount in native human cartilage, whereas the amount in the samples made with swine chondrocytes was always less than native cartilage. The biomechanical analysis revealed that the stiffness and tensile of samples made with human cells were in a pattern similar to that seen with swine chondrocytes. This study demonstrates that chondrogenesis using articular chondrocytes from middle-aged adults can be achieved in a predictable and reliable manner similar to that shown in studies using cells from juvenile animals and can form the basis of engineering cartilage with degradable scaffolds in this patient population.     

Clonal populations of chondrocytes with progenitor properties identified within human articular cartilage

The aim of the present study was to identify and characterize progenitor properties of human articular chondrocytes selected by using agarose suspension culture. In this chondrogenic selective culture condition, about 3.6% of seeded surplus chondrocytes from patients undergoing articular chondrocyte transplantation proliferated and formed cell clusters after 6 weeks. Phase-contrast microscopy and transmission electron microscopy revealed four different types of cell clusters differing in cellular content and matrix production. Based on their morphological features, they were named the homogenous (H), the homogenous matrix (HM), the differentiated matrix (DM) and the differentiated (D) cell clusters. All cell clusters showed positive safranin O staining, and matrix was positive for antibodies detecting type II collagen and aggrecan. The clusters were further demonstrated to express the genes for fibroblast growth factor receptor 3, type IIA collagen and type IIB collagen, while type X collagen was not expressed. After subcloning, the H and HM clusters demonstrated the best proliferative capacity. Chondrocytes from these two cell clusters also showed phenotypic plasticity in chondrogenic, adipogenic as well as osteogenic assays. This study demonstrates that existing subpopulations of cells with chondroprogenitor properties can be isolated from human adult articular cartilage using agarose suspension cultures.     

低氧对脂肪干细胞和关节软骨细胞三维共培养成软骨能力的影响

背景：多项体内外研究表明低氧和共培养均促进干细胞向软骨细胞方向分化。目的：观察低氧对脂肪干细胞和关节软骨细胞三维共培养成软骨能力的影响。方法：脂肪干细胞和关节软骨细胞二者按3∶1比例混合,以5×10¹⁰ L^-1接种于聚乳酸-羟基乙酸共聚物/明胶支架上,分别在常氧(体积分数为20% O₂)、低氧(体积分数为5% O₂)环境下培养6周。苏木精-伊红染色进行组织学分析,阿尔新蓝染色鉴定糖胺多糖的合成,免疫组化鉴定Ⅱ型胶原的表达,并测定各组支架-细胞复合物的DNA、糖胺聚糖、羟脯氨酸含量。结果与结论：低氧组苏木精-伊红染色显示大量细胞及细胞外基质生成,阿尔新蓝染色显示有大量糖胺多糖生成,免疫组化显示Ⅱ型胶原表达强阳性,且DNA、糖胺聚糖、羟脯氨酸等各项指标均高于常氧组。表明低氧促进脂肪干细胞和关节软骨细胞共培养成软骨分化。 中国组织工程研究杂志出版内容重点：组织构建;骨细胞;软骨细胞;细胞培养;成纤维细胞;血管内皮细胞;骨质疏松;组织工程全文链接：     

Age-related changes in rabbit articular chondrocytes

Cell culture techniques have been used extensively in the study of the aging process at the cellular level. The "senescent" articular chondrocyte seems to be a good model to examine the responses to aging in osteoarthritis, one of the most frequent diseases of old age. Thus in vitro chondrocyte "senescence", established by weekly subculture was characterized by a declining proliferation rate during late passages, from a rapid growth rate in early subculture to a complete loss of the proliferation capacity after 8 +/- 1 passages. Flow cytometric analysis show a time course decrease in the fraction S and G2 + M during the subculture, and a concomitant enhancement in protein content related to the increase of cell size. The immunocytochemistry assays revealed an appearance of a rigid cytoarchitecture with an increase in the number, and organization, of three cytoskeletal components: actin, tubulin and vimentin. The cultured chondrocytes therefore undergo in vitro aging analogous to that described for diploid fibroblasts, and could constitute a cellular model for pharmacological and toxicological assays.