High hydrostatic pressure-induced cell death in human chondrocytes and chondrosarcoma cells.
BACKGROUND
In orthopedic surgery, sterilization of bone used for reconstruction of osteoarticular defects caused by malignant tumors is carried out in different ways. At present, to devitalize tumor-bearing osteochondral segments, extracorporal irradiation or autoclaving is mainly used, although both methods have substantial disadvantages, e.g. loss of biomechanical and/or biological integrity of the bone and destabilization of the articular surface. In this regard, high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatment of bone is a new, advancing technology, now being used in preclinical testing to inactivate tumor cells. To find out if this technique is also suited for extracorporal inactivation of chondrocytes and chondral tumor cells, the effect of HHP on cell viability and morphology of human chondrocytes / chondrosarcoma cells was investigated in the present study.


METHODS
SW1353 chondrosarcoma cells and chondrocytes were subjected to HHP in the range of 50 to 350 MPa (10 min, 37 degrees C) and, subsequently, cell viability and cell morphology assessed.


RESULTS
After exposure at 350 MPa, all HHP-treated chondral cells showed explicit morphological changes, evident by membrane ruffling and bleb formation; chondrosarcoma cells treated this way were irreversibly damaged and not alive.


CONCLUSIONS
We anticipate that, in orthopedic surgery, HHP eventually can serve as a novel, promising technical approach for cell inactivation (including tumor cells) and allow subsequent reimplantation of the osteoarticular autograft.
Naal
Florian-Dominique
FD
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Technical University of Munich, Ismaninger Str. 22, D-81675 Muenchen, Germany.
Mengele
Karin
K
Schauwecker
Johannes
J
Gollwitzer
Hans
H
Gerdesmeyer
Ludger
L
Reuning
Ute
U
Mittelmeier
Wolfram
W
Gradinger
Reiner
R
Schmitt
Manfred
M
Diehl
Peter
P
D000368:Aged; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D016923:Cell Death / Q000502:physiology; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D002813:Chondrosarcoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D006874:Hydrostatic Pressure; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured