Tissue engineering of stratified articular cartilage from chondrocyte subpopulations

• Published in: Osteoarthritis and cartilage Vol. 11; no. 8; pp. 595 - 602
• Main Authors: Klein, T.J., Schumacher, B.L., Schmidt, T.A., Li, K.W., Voegtline, M.S., Masuda, K., Thonar, E.J.-M.A., Sah, R.L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-08-2003
• Subjects: Animals; Blotting, Western - methods; Cartilage; Cartilage, Articular - physiology; Cattle; Cells, Cultured; Chondrocytes - physiology; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay - methods; Extracellular Matrix - physiology; Hindlimb; Immunohistochemistry - methods; Proteoglycans - analysis; Stress, Mechanical; Superficial zone protein; Tissue engineering; Tissue Engineering - methods; Cartilage; Tissue engineering; Superficial zone protein
• ISSN: 1063-4584; 1522-9653
• DOI: 10.1016/S1063-4584(03)00090-6

Objective: To test if subpopulations of chondrocytes from different cartilage zones could be used to engineer cartilage constructs with features of normal stratification.
Design: Chondrocytes from the superficial and middle zones of immature bovine cartilage were cultured in alginate, released, and seeded either separately or sequentially to form cartilage constructs. Constructs were cultured for 1 or 2 weeks and were assessed for growth, compressive properties, and deposition, and localization of matrix molecules and superficial zone protein (SZP).
Results: The cartilaginous constructs formed from superficial zone chondrocytes exhibited less matrix growth and lower compressive properties than constructs from middle zone chondrocytes, with the stratified superficial-middle constructs exhibiting intermediate properties. Expression of SZP was highest at the construct surfaces, with the localization of SZP in superficial-middle constructs being concentrated at the superficial surface.
Conclusions: Manipulation of subpopulations of chondrocytes can be useful in engineering cartilage tissue with a biomimetic approach, and in fabricating constructs that exhibit stratified features of normal articular cartilage.