Tissue engineered cartilage: utilization of autologous serum and serum-free media for chondrocyte culture.
BACKGROUND
Standard culture medium contains bovine serum. If standard culture methodology is used for future human tissue-engineering, unknown risks of infection from bovine disease or immune reaction to foreign proteins theoretically might occur. In this study we wished to evaluate the potential of chondrocyte expansion using autologous and serum free media.


METHODS
Autologous auricular cartilage was harvested in a swine model. An initial concentration of 100x10(3) cells per group were expanded in three groups. Group A, F-12 with 10% fetal calf serum; Group B, F-12 supplemented with 10% autologous serum; Group C, F-12 supplemented with growth factors. Cell numbers were counted at days 3, 6, 9 and 12.


RESULTS
The cells in all the three groups exhibited normal chondrocyte morphology. At early time points there was a statistically significant difference in the number of cells between Group A and the two other groups (p<0.05). By day 12, both Groups A and C demonstrated greater cell number as compared to Group B (p<0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that both autologous serum as well as serum free media might be substituted for the expansion of the number of chondrocytes, thus avoiding the potential need for a bovine serum supplement.
Kamil
S H
SH
The Department of Otolaryngology, University of Massachusetts, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, MA 01655, USA. kamils@ummhc.org
Kojima
K
K
Vacanti
M P
MP
Zaporojan
V
V
Vacanti
C A
CA
Eavey
R D
RD
D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned; D016895:Culture Media, Serum-Free; D004425:Ear Cartilage / Q000166:cytology*; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors / Q000494:pharmacology; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000494:pharmacology; D023421:Models, Animal; D013552:Swine; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous
D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned; D016895:Culture Media, Serum-Free; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I