title: Use of hydrodynamic forces to engineer cartilaginous tissues resembling the non-uniform structure and function of meniscus.
abstract: The aim of this study was to demonstrate that differences in the local composition of bi-zonal fibrocartilaginous tissues result in different local biomechanical properties in compression and tension. Bovine articular chondrocytes were loaded into hyaluronan-based meshes (HYAFF-11) and cultured for 4 weeks in mixed flask, a rotary Cell Culture System (RCCS), or statically. Resulting tissues were assessed histologically, immunohistochemically, by scanning electron microscopy and mechanically in different regions. Local mechanical analyses in compression and tension were performed by indentation-type scanning force microscopy and by tensile tests on punched out concentric rings, respectively. Tissues cultured in mixed flask or RCCS displayed an outer region positively stained for versican and type I collagen, and an inner region positively stained for glycosaminoglycans and types I and II collagen. The outer fibrocartilaginous capsule included bundles (up to 2 microm diameter) of collagen fibers and was stiffer in tension (up to 3.6-fold higher elastic modulus), whereas the inner region was stiffer in compression (up to 3.8-fold higher elastic modulus). Instead, molecule distribution and mechanical properties were similar in the outer and inner regions of statically grown tissues. In conclusion, exposure of articular chondrocyte-based constructs to hydrodynamic flow generated tissues with locally different composition and mechanical properties, resembling some aspects of the complex structure and function of the outer and inner zones of native meniscus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Institute for Surgical research and Hospital Management, University Hospital Basel, Hebelstrasse 20, ZLF, Room 405, 4031 Basel, CH, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marsano
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wendt
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Raiteri
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gottardi
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stolz
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wirz
authors.forename: Alma U
authors.initials: AU
authors.lastname: Daniels
authors.forename: Donald
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Salter
authors.forename: Marcel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jakob
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Quinn
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Martin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000166:cytology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002417:Cattle; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D013718:Tensile Strength; D023822:Tissue Engineering