title: Monoclonal antibody 11-fibrau: a useful marker to characterize chondrocyte differentiation stage.
abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of discriminating between differentiated and dedifferentiated chondrocytes by using the Mab 11-fibrau. Mab 11-fibrau did not bind to differentiated chondrocytes in cartilage of human knee joint, auricle, or nasal septum. During monolayer culture, when cells dedifferentiate, the number of 11-fibrau positive cells gradually increased and reached up to 100% after 4 passages. When differentiated chondrocytes were cultured in alginate, most (90--95%) of the cells remained 11-fibrau negative, in accordance with previous studies demonstrating that differentiated chondrocytes cultured in alginate keep their phenotype. Dedifferentiated (11-fibrau positive) cells were subjected to different redifferentiation regimes. As a well-known fact, cultures in alginate in medium where FCS was replaced by IGF1 and TGF beta 2 results in increased collagen type II formation, indicative for redifferentiation. However, the cells remained 11-fibrau positive, suggesting they are not (yet) fully redifferentiated. On the other hand, when dedifferentiated cells (after 4 passages in monolayer culture) were seeded in a biomaterial and implanted subcutaneously in a nude mouse, the newly formed cartilage matrix contained collagen type II and the 11-fibrau staining on the cells had disappeared. Our results indicate that 11-fibrau may be a reliable and sensitive marker of chondrocyte phenotype.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: van Osch
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: van der Veen
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Marijnissen
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Verhaar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000378:metabolism*; D000954:Antigens, Surface / Q000378:metabolism; D015415:Biomarkers; D002417:Cattle; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology*; D003429:Cross Reactions; D006801:Humans; D010641:Phenotype; D011817:Rabbits; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000954:Antigens, Surface; D015415:Biomarkers