TAK-778 enhances osteoblast differentiation of human bone marrow cells via an estrogen-receptor-dependent pathway

TAK-778, a derivative of ipriflavone, has been shown to induce bone growth in in vitro and in vivo models. However, there are no studies evaluating by which mechanism TAK-778 exerts its effect. Considering the evidences that its precursors act via classical estrogen-receptor (ER)-mediated signaling, in the present study, we tested the hypothesis that TAK-778 induces osteogenesis in human bone marrow cell culture via an ER-dependent pathway. Cells were cultured in 24-well culture plates at a cell density of 2 x 10(4) cells/well in culture medium containing: TAK-778 (10(-5) M), Tamoxifen (10(-5) M), TAK-778 (10(-5) M) + Tamoxifen (10(-5) M), and vehicle. During the culture period, cells were incubated at 37 degrees C in a humidified atmosphere of 5% CO(2) and 95% air. At 7, 14, and 21 days, cell proliferation, cell viability, total protein content, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and bone-like formation were evaluated. Data were compared by two-way ANOVA and Duncan's multiple range test. TAK-778 did not affect cell viability. Cell number was reduced by TAK-778. Total protein content, ALP activity, and bone-like formation were increased by TAK-778. In general, Tamoxifen did not have any effect on cell behavior. However, when cells were cultured in medium containing both TAK-778 and Tamoxifen, the effect of TAK-778 on osteoblast differentiation was inhibited. The present results show that TAK-778 enhances osteoblast differentiation in human bone marrow cell culture, at least in part, via an ER-dependent pathway, since its effect was inhibited by Tamoxifen, a well-known estrogen receptor antagonist.     

TAK-778 enhances osteoblast differentiation of human bone marrow cells

TAK-778 has been shown to induce bone growth in in vitro and in vivo models. However, there are no studies evaluating the effect of TAK-778 on human cells. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate osteogenesis induced by TAK-778 on human bone marrow cells. Cells were cultured in 24-well culture plates at a cell density of 2 x 10(4) cells/well in culture medium containing TAK-778 (10(-7), 10(-6), and 10(-5) M, each) or vehicle. During the culture period, cells were incubated at 37 degrees C in a humidified atmosphere of 5% CO(2) and 95% air. For attachment evaluation, cells were cultured for 4 and 24 h. After 7, 14, and 21 days, cell proliferation, cell viability, total protein content, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and bone-like formation were evaluated. Data were compared by ANOVA and Duncan's multiple range test. TAK-778 did not affect cell attachment and viability. Cell number was reduced by TAK-778 in all time period evaluated in a dose-dependent way. The effect of TAK-778 on total protein content, ALP activity and bone-like formation was a dose-dependent increase. The present results suggest that initial cell events such as cell attachment are not affected by TAK-778 while events that indicate osteoblast differentiation including reduced cell proliferation, and increased both ALP activity and bone-like formation are enhanced by TAK-778 in a time and dose-dependent way. It means that TAK-778 could be a useful drug to enhance new bone formation in clinical situations that require rapid restoration of physiologic function, such as orthopedic and maxillofacial surgery.     

Over-expressed estrogen receptor-α up-regulates hTNF-α gene expression and down-regulates β-catenin signaling activity to induce the apoptosis and inhibit proliferation of LoVo colon cancer cells

TAK-778 has been shown to stimulate osteogenesis both in vitro and in vivo. However, the mechanism by which TAK-778 exerts its effects is still unclear. There is evidence that TAK-778 acts via estrogen-receptor (ER)-mediated signaling; this study therefore aimed to investigate the roles that ERα, ERβ, and membrane ER play in the osteogenic effect of TAK-778. To this end, human bone marrow mesenchymal cells were cultured with TAK-778 in the presence of either ICI182,780 (ERα and ERβ antagonist) or MPP (ERα antagonist) or PD98059 (an extracellular-regulated kinase inhibitor that acts on the membrane ER pathway). The following parameters were evaluated: cell proliferation, collagen content, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and bone-like formation. Data were compared using ANOVA. The effect of TAK-778 on expression of ERα and ERβ was investigated by immunolabeling. In order to investigate whether TAK-778 binds to ER, an ER binding assay was performed. Both immunolabeling and binding assays were conducted using cells from human alveolar bone. The osteogenic effect of TAK-778 was inhibited by ICI182,780 and MPP; however, it was not affected by PD98059. The expression of both ERα and ERβ was not affected by TAK-778. The competition curve obtained from the binding assay using TAK-778 showed maximal displacement when 10⁻⁵ M TAK-778 was used. This study's results show that TAK-778 enhances osteoblast differentiation through an ERα-dependent pathway by binding to this receptor and not by increasing the expression of ER. (Mol Cell Biochem xxx: 1–9, 2005)     

Current clinical therapies for cartilage repair, their limitation and the role of stem cells

The management of osteochondral defects of articular cartilage, whether from trauma or degenerative disease, continues to be a significant challenge for Orthopaedic surgeons. Current treatment options such as abrasion arthroplasty procedures, osteochondral transplantation and autologous chondrocyte implantation fail to produce repair tissue exhibiting the same mechanical and functional properties of native articular cartilage. This results in repair tissue that inevitably fails as it is unable to deal with the mechanical demands of articular cartilage, and does not prevent further degeneration of the native cartilage. Mesenchymal stem cells have been proposed as a potential source of cells for cell-based cartilage repair due to their ability to self-renew and undergo multi-lineage differentiation. This proposed procedure has the advantage of not requiring harvesting of cells from the joint surface, and its associated donor site morbidity, as well as having multiple possible adult donor tissues such as bone marrow, adipose tissue and synovium. Mesenchymal stem cells have multi-lineage potential, but can be stimulated to undergo chondrogenesis in the appropriate culture medium. As the majority of work with mesenchymal stem cell-derived articular cartilage repair has been carried out in vitro and in animal studies, more work still has to be done before this technique can be used for clinical purposes. This includes realizing the ideal method of harvesting mesenchymal stem cells, the culture medium to stimulate proliferation and differentiation, appropriate choice of scaffold incorporating growth factors directly or with gene therapy and integration of repair tissue with native tissue.     

A second-generation autologous chondrocyte implantation approach to the treatment of focal articular cartilage defects

Autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) is the most widely used cell-based surgical procedure for the repair of articular cartilage defects. Challenges to successful ACI outcomes include limitation in defect size and geometry as well as inefficient cell retention. Second-generation ACI procedures have thus focused on developing three-dimensional constructs using native and synthetic biomaterials. Clinically significant and satisfactory results from applying autologous chondrocytes seeded in fibrin within a biodegradable polymeric material were recently reported. In the future, third-generation cell-based articular cartilage repair should focus on the use of chondroprogenitor cells and biofunctionalized biomaterials for more extensive and permanent repair.     

Requirement of fibroblast growth factor signaling for regeneration of epiphyseal morphology in rabbit full-thickness defects of articular cartilage

The involvement of fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) during the repair process in rabbit full-thickness defects of articular cartilage was studied. Fibroblast growth factor-2 (50 pg/h) was administered for 2 weeks in a 5mm defect of articular cartilage, which is large enough not to repair spontaneously. The administration of FGF-2 resulted in the regeneration of the articular cartilage and the subchondral bone within 8 weeks. In these defects, undifferentiated mesenchymal cells initiated chondrogenic differentiation coupled with replacement by subchondral bone, resulting in the resurfacing of the defects with hyaline cartilage and the recovery of subchondral bone up to the original bone–articular cartilage junction. In rabbits, full-thickness defects are capable of regenerating articular cartilage as long as the defect size is limited to ≤3 mm in diameter. In the defects, strong immunoreactivity for FGF-2 was observed in the granulation tissue filling the defects in the early stage of repair, in association with the expression of FGF-2 mRNA shown by in situ hybridization. Once the undifferentiated mesenchymal cells had differentiated into chondrocytes, both the immunoreactivity and the in situ hybridization signal declined significantly. Upon the local administration of a monoclonal antibody against FGF-2 (bFM-1, 50ng/h), the defects were filled with fibrous tissue and no resurfacing hyaline cartilage was formed. Compared to the non-treated defects, there were marked increases in FGF-2 immunoreactivity and the overexpression of FGF-2 mRNA in the reparative tissue in the bFM-1 -treated defects. This rebound phenomenon indicates that the autocrine FGF-2 signaling is critically important for the regeneration of articular cartilage.     

Transforming growth factor beta superfamily members: role in cartilage modeling

Normal and abnormal extracellular matrix turnover is thought to result, in part, from the balance in the expression of metalloproteinases and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). The clinical manifestations of an imbalance in these relationships are evident in a variety of pathologic states, including osteoarthritis, deficient long-bone growth, rheumatoid arthritis, tumor invasion, and inadequate cartilage repair. Articular cartilage defects commonly heal as fibrocartilage, which is structurally inferior to the normal hyaline architecture of articular cartilage. Transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta1), a cytokine central to growth, repair, and inflammation, has been shown to upregulate TIMP-1 expression in human and bovine articular cartilage. Additionally, members of the TGF-beta superfamily are thought to play key roles in chondrocyte growth and differentiation. Bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2), a member of this superfamily, has been shown to regulate chondrocyte differentiation states and extracellular matrix composition. It was proposed that, by optimizing extracellular matrix composition, BMP-2 would enhance articular cartilage healing. After determining the release kinetics of BMP-2 from a collagen type I implant (Long-Evans male rats; two implants/rat, n = 14), it was found that, in a tissue engineering application, BMP-2 induced a hyaline-like repair of New Zealand White rabbit knee articular cartilage defects (3-mm full-thickness defects in the femoral trochlea; 2 defects/rabbit, n = 36). The quality of cartilage repair with BMP-2 (with or without chondrocytes) was significantly better than defects treated with BMP-2, as assessed by a quantitative scoring scale. Immunohistochemical staining revealed TIMP-1 production in the cartilage defects treated with BMP-2. When studied in vitro, it was found that BMP-2 markedly increased TIMP-1 mRNA by both bovine articular and human rib chondrocytes. Additionally, increased TIMP-1 mRNA was translated into increased TIMP-1 protein production by bovine chondrocytes. Taken together, these data suggest that BMP-2 may be a useful cytokine to improve healing of cartilaginous defects. Furthermore, these data suggest that the beneficial effects of BMP-2 may be, in part, related to alterations in extracellular matrix turnover.     

Local stimulation of articular cartilage repair by transplantation of encapsulated chondrocytes overexpressing human fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2) in vivo

BACKGROUND: Defects of articular cartilage are an unsolved problem in orthopaedics. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that gene transfer of human fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2) via transplantation of encapsulated genetically modified articular chondrocytes stimulates chondrogenesis in cartilage defects in vivo. METHODS: Lapine articular chondrocytes overexpressing a lacZ or a human FGF-2 gene sequence were encapsulated in alginate and further characterized. The resulting lacZ or FGF-2 spheres were applied to cartilage defects in the knee joints of rabbits. In vivo, cartilage repair was assessed qualitatively and quantitatively at 3 and 14 weeks after implantation. RESULTS: In vitro, bioactive FGF-2 was secreted, leading to a significant increase in the cell numbers in FGF-2 spheres. In vivo, FGF-2 continued to be expressed for at least 3 weeks without leading to differences in FGF-2 concentrations in the synovial fluid between treatment groups. Histological analysis revealed no adverse pathologic effects on the synovial membrane at any time point. FGF-2 gene transfer enhanced type II collagen expression and individual parameters of chondrogenesis, such as the cell morphology and architecture of the new tissue. Overall articular cartilage repair was significantly improved at both time points in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: The data suggest that localized overexpression of FGF-2 enhances the repair of cartilage defects via stimulation of chondrogenesis, without adverse effects on the synovial membrane. These results may lead to the development of safe gene-based therapies for human articular cartilage defects.     

Depth-dependent biomechanical and biochemical properties of fetal, newborn, and tissue-engineered articular cartilage

Adult articular cartilage has depth-dependent mechanical and biochemical properties which contribute to zone-specific functions. The compressive moduli of immature cartilage and tissue-engineered cartilage are known to be lower than those of adult cartilage. The objective of this study was to determine if such tissues exhibit depth-dependent compressive properties, and how these depth-varying properties were correlated with cell and matrix composition of the tissue. The compressive moduli of fetal and newborn bovine articular cartilage increased with depth (p<0.05) by a factor of 4-5 from the top 0.1 mm (28+/-13 kPa, 141+/-10 kPa, respectively) to 1 mm deep into the tissue. Likewise, the glycosaminoglycan and collagen content increased with depth (both p<0.001), and correlated with the modulus (both p<0.01). In contrast, tissue-engineered cartilage formed by either layering or mixing cells from the superficial and middle zone of articular cartilage exhibited similarly soft regions at both construct surfaces, as exemplified by large equilibrium strains. The properties of immature cartilage may provide a template for developing tissue-engineered cartilage which aims to repair cartilage defects by recapitulating the natural development and growth processes. These results suggest that while depth-dependent properties may be important to engineer into cartilage constructs, issues other than cell heterogeneity must be addressed to generate such tissues.     

Articular Cartilage Chondrocytes are more Advantageous for Generating Hyaline-like Cartilage than Mesenchymal Cells Isolated from Microfracture Repairs

Articular cartilage lacks self-repair capacity. Currently, two methods employing autologous cells are used to stimulate repair of articular cartilage. Micro-fracture induced repair induces autologous mesenchymal cell migration from bone marrow. Autologous chondrocytes' transplantation involves in vitro expansion of chondrocytes, and later implantation. In 15 patients de-differentiated chondrocytes obtained by cartilage biopsy were compared to cells derived from repair tissue induced by micro-fracture. These patients all underwent micro-fracture during the cartilage biopsy procedure. Autologous chondrocytes' transplantation was performed at least two months later then the biopsy. Tissue bits from articular cartilage and micro-fracture repair tissue were incubated in-vitro and explant cell cultures established. The cell cultures were assessed by immunohistochemistry and induced to differentiate. Differentiation into bone tissue was stimulated by addition of basic fibroblast growth factor, ascorbate and dexamethasone. High density (micro-mass) culture was used to stimulate chondrogenesis. Both cell cultures consist of mesenchymal progenitors as indicated by fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 expression and anti-CD-34+ antibodies. However, the micro-fracture generated repair tissue consists of osteocalcin-expressing cells destined to become bone. Collagen type II expression does not occur in these cells compared to autologous chondrocytes. Inducible nitric oxide synthase expression by microfracture cells is likely to damage surrounding articular cartilage in vivo. In conclusion, cells recruited by micro-fracture are inferior for cartilage regeneration purposes to those from cartilage biopsies.     

Repair of injured articular and growth plate cartilage using mesenchymal stem cells and chondrogenic gene therapy

Injuries to the articular cartilage and growth plate are significant clinical problems due to their limited ability to regenerate themselves. Despite progress in orthopedic surgery and some success in development of chondrocyte transplantation treatment and in early tissue-engineering work, cartilage regeneration using a biological approach still remains a great challenge. In the last 15 years, researchers have made significant advances and tremendous progress in exploring the potentials of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in cartilage repair. These include (a) identifying readily available sources of and devising appropriate techniques for isolation and culture expansion of MSCs that have good chondrogenic differentiation capability, (b) discovering appropriate growth factors (such as TGF-beta, IGF-I, BMPs, and FGF-2) that promote MSC chondrogenic differentiation, (c) identifying or engineering biological or artificial matrix scaffolds as carriers for MSCs and growth factors for their transplantation and defect filling. In addition, representing another new perspective for cartilage repair is the successful demonstration of gene therapy with chondrogenic growth factors or inflammatory inhibitors (either individually or in combination), either directly to the cartilage tissue or mediated through transducing and transplanting cultured chondrocytes, MSCs or other mesenchymal cells. However, despite these rapid pre-clinical advances and some success in engineering cartilage-like tissue and in repairing articular and growth plate cartilage, challenges of their clinical translation remain. To achieve clinical effectiveness, safety, and practicality of using MSCs for cartilage repair, one critical investigation will be to examine the optimal combination of MSC sources, growth factor cocktails, and supporting carrier matrixes. As more insights are acquired into the critical factors regulating MSC migration, proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation both ex vivo and in vivo, it will be possible clinically to orchestrate desirable repair of injured articular and growth plate cartilage, either by transplanting ex vivo expanded MSCs or MSCs with genetic modifications, or by mobilising endogenous MSCs from adjacent source tissues such as synovium, bone marrow, or trabecular bone.     

Chondrogenesis,joint formation,and articular cartilage regeneration

The repair of joint surface defects remains a clinical challenge, as articular cartilage has a limited healing response. Despite this, articular cartilage does have the capacity to grow and remodel extensively during pre‐ and post‐natal development. As such, the elucidation of developmental mechanisms, particularly those in post‐natal animals, may shed valuable light on processes that could be harnessed to develop novel approaches for articular cartilage tissue engineering and/or regeneration to treat injuries or degeneration in adult joints. Much has been learned through mouse genetics regarding the embryonic development of joints. This knowledge, as well as the less extensive available information regarding post‐natal joint development is reviewed here and discussed in relation to their possible relevance to future directions in cartilage tissue repair and regeneration. J. Cell. Biochem. 107: 383–392, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Identification and clonal characterisation of a progenitor cell sub-population in normal human articular cartilage

Background

Articular cartilage displays a poor repair capacity. The aim of cell-based therapies for cartilage defects is to repair damaged joint surfaces with a functional replacement tissue. Currently, chondrocytes removed from a healthy region of the cartilage are used but they are unable to retain their phenotype in expanded culture. The resulting repair tissue is fibrocartilaginous rather than hyaline, potentially compromising long-term repair. Mesenchymal stem cells, particularly bone marrow stromal cells (BMSC), are of interest for cartilage repair due to their inherent replicative potential. However, chondrocyte differentiated BMSCs display an endochondral phenotype, that is, can terminally differentiate and form a calcified matrix, leading to failure in long-term defect repair. Here, we investigate the isolation and characterisation of a human cartilage progenitor population that is resident within permanent adult articular cartilage.

Methods and Findings

Human articular cartilage samples were digested and clonal populations isolated using a differential adhesion assay to fibronectin. Clonal cell lines were expanded in growth media to high population doublings and karyotype analysis performed. We present data to show that this cell population demonstrates a restricted differential potential during chondrogenic induction in a 3D pellet culture system. Furthermore, evidence of high telomerase activity and maintenance of telomere length, characteristic of a mesenchymal stem cell population, were observed in this clonal cell population. Lastly, as proof of principle, we carried out a pilot repair study in a goat in vivo model demonstrating the ability of goat cartilage progenitors to form a cartilage-like repair tissue in a chondral defect.

Conclusions

In conclusion, we propose that we have identified and characterised a novel cartilage progenitor population resident in human articular cartilage which will greatly benefit future cell-based cartilage repair therapies due to its ability to maintain chondrogenicity upon extensive expansion unlike full-depth chondrocytes that lose this ability at only seven population doublings.     

Biological impact of the fibroblast growth factor family on articular cartilage and intervertebral disc homeostasis

Two members of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family, basic FGF (bFGF) and FGF-18, have been implicated in the regulation of articular and intervertebral disc (IVD) cartilage homeostasis. Studies on bFGF from a variety of species have yielded contradictory results with regards to its precise role in cartilage matrix synthesis and degradation. In contrast, FGF-18 is a well-known anabolic growth factor involved in chondrogenesis and articular cartilage repair. In this review, we examined the biological actions of bFGF and FGF-18 in articular and IVD cartilage, the specific cell surface receptors bound by each factor, and the unique signaling cascades and molecular pathways utilized to exert their biological effects. Evidence suggests that bFGF selectively activates FGF receptor 1 (FGFR1) to exert degradative effects in both human articular chondrocytes and IVD tissue via upregulation of matrix-degrading enzyme activity, inhibition of matrix production, and increased cell proliferation resulting in clustering of cells seen in arthritic states. FGF-18, on the other hand, most likely exerts anabolic effects in human articular chondrocytes by activating FGFR3, increasing matrix formation and cell differentiation while inhibiting cell proliferation, leading to dispersed cells surrounded by abundant matrix. The results from in vitro and in vivo studies suggest the potential usefulness of bFGF and FGFR1 antagonists, as well as FGF-18 and FGFR3 agonists, as potential therapies to prevent cartilage degeneration and/or promote cartilage regeneration and repair in the future.     

Peptide growth factors and their interactions during chondrogenesis

Peptide growth factors have been implicated in three aspects of cartilage growth and metabolism; the induction of mesoderm and differentiation of a cartilaginous skeleton in the early embryo, the growth and differentiation of chondrocytes within the epiphyseal growth plates leading to endochondral calcification, and the processes of articular cartilage damage and repair. Three peptide growth factor classes have been strongly implicated in these processes, the fibroblast growth factor family (FGF), the insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) including insulin, and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and related molecules. Each of these peptide groups are expressed in the early embryo. Basic FGF, TGF-β and the related activin have been shown to induce the appearance of mesoderm from primitive neuroectoderm. TGF-β and related bone morphometric proteins can induce the differentiation of cartilage from primitive mesenchyme, and together with basic FGF and IGFs promote cartilage growth. Each class of growth factor is expressed within the epiphyseal growth plate where their autocrine/paracrine interactions regulate the rate of chondrocyte proliferation, matrix protein synthesis and terminal differentiation and mineralization. Basic FGF may prove useful in articular cartilage repair, while basic FGF, IGFs and TGF-β are among a number of growth factors and cytokines that have been implicated in cartilage disease.     

Comparison of age-dependent expression of aggrecan and ADAMTSs in mandibular condylar cartilage, tibial growth plate, and articular cartilage in rats

A disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motif (adamalysin–thrombospondins, ADAMTS) degrades aggrecan, one of the major extracellular matrix (ECM) components in cartilage. Mandibular condylar cartilage differs from primary cartilage, such as articular and growth plate cartilage, in its metabolism of ECM, proliferation, and differentiation. Mandibular condylar cartilage acts as both articular and growth plate cartilage in the growing period, while it remains as articular cartilage after growth. We hypothesized that functional and ECM differences between condylar and primary cartilages give rise to differences in gene expression patterns and levels of aggrecan and ADAMTS-1, -4, and -5 during growth and aging. We employed in situ hybridization and semiquantitative RT-PCR to identify mRNA expression for these molecules in condylar cartilage and primary cartilages during growth and aging. All of the ADAMTSs presented characteristic, age-dependent expression patterns and levels among the cartilages tested in this study. ADAMTS-5 mainly contributed to ECM metabolism in growth plate and condylar cartilage during growth. ADAMTS-1 and ADAMTS-4 may be involved in ECM turn over in articular cartilage. The results of the present study reveal that ECM metabolism and expression of related proteolytic enzymes in primary and secondary cartilages may be differentially regulated during growth and aging.     

Age-related changes in the expression of gelatinase and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase genes in mandibular condylar,growth plate,and articular cartilage in rats

Summary Mandibular condylar cartilage acts as both articular and growth plate cartilage during growth, and then becomes articular cartilage after growth is complete. Cartilaginous extracellular matrix is remodeled continuously via a combination of production, degradation by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), and inhibition of MMP activity by tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). This study attempted to clarify the age-related changes in the mRNA expression patterns of MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1, TIMP-2, and TIMP-3 in mandibular condylar cartilage in comparison to tibial growth plate and articular cartilage using an in situ hybridization method in growing and adult rats. MMP-2 and MMP-9 were expressed in a wide range of condylar cartilage cells during growth, and their expression domains became limited to mature chondrocytes in adults. The patterns of TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 expression were similar to those of MMP-2 and MMP-9 during growth, and were maintained until adulthood. TIMP-3 was localized to hypertrophic chondrocytes throughout the growth stage. Therefore, we concluded that TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 were general inhibitors of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in condylar cartilage, while TIMP-3 regulates the collagenolytic degradation of the hypertrophic cartilage matrix.     

3D Hydrogel Scaffolds for Articular Chondrocyte Culture and Cartilage Generation

Human articular cartilage is highly susceptible to damage and has limited self-repair and regeneration potential. Cell-based strategies to engineer cartilage tissue offer a promising solution to repair articular cartilage. To select the optimal cell source for tissue repair, it is important to develop an appropriate culture platform to systematically examine the biological and biomechanical differences in the tissue-engineered cartilage by different cell sources. Here we applied a three-dimensional (3D) biomimetic hydrogel culture platform to systematically examine cartilage regeneration potential of juvenile, adult, and osteoarthritic (OA) chondrocytes. The 3D biomimetic hydrogel consisted of synthetic component poly(ethylene glycol) and bioactive component chondroitin sulfate, which provides a physiologically relevant microenvironment for in vitro culture of chondrocytes. In addition, the scaffold may be potentially used for cell delivery for cartilage repair in vivo. Cartilage tissue engineered in the scaffold can be evaluated using quantitative gene expression, immunofluorescence staining, biochemical assays, and mechanical testing. Utilizing these outcomes, we were able to characterize the differential regenerative potential of chondrocytes of varying age, both at the gene expression level and in the biochemical and biomechanical properties of the engineered cartilage tissue. The 3D culture model could be applied to investigate the molecular and functional differences among chondrocytes and progenitor cells from different stages of normal or aberrant development.     

Papain-induced changes in the guinea pig knee joint with special reference to cartilage healing

The repair of articular cartilage following papain injection into the knee joint of the guinea pig was studied by light and electron microscopy, as well as by autoradiography using tritiated thymidine. Papain injection rapidly produced complete degradation of cartilage proteoglycan. Although a number of chondrocytes were also destroyed, the remaining chondrocytes showed mitotic cell division with resultant formation of cell clusters. Such chondrocytic regeneration, however, did not contribute significantly to the repair of cartilage tissue. On the other hand, mesenchymal cells proliferated from the transition zone and extended over the surface of the damaged cartilage. At the peripheral portion of the articular surface, they migrated and differentiated into chondrocytes with the formation of abundant intercellular matrix to produce hyaline cartilage. From these findings, it was apparent that mesenchymal cells in the transition zone were actively engaged in the repair of articular cartilage.