Recombinant human type II collagen as a material for cartilage tissue engineering.
OBJECTIVE
Collagen type II is the major component of cartilage and would be an optimal scaffold material for reconstruction of injured cartilage tissue. In this study, the feasibility of recombinant human type II collagen gel as a 3-dimensional culture system for bovine chondrocytes was evaluated in vitro.


METHODS
Bovine chondrocytes (4x106 cells) were seeded within collagen gels and cultivated for up to 4 weeks. The gels were investigated with confocal microscopy, histology, and biochemical assays.


RESULTS
Confocal microscopy revealed that the cells maintained their viability during the entire cultivation period. The chondrocytes were evenly distributed inside the gels, and the number of cells and the amount of the extracellular matrix increased during cultivation. The chondrocytes maintained their round phenotype during the 4-week cultivation period. The glycosaminoglycan levels of the tissue increased during the experiment. The relative levels of aggrecan and type II collagen mRNA measured with realtime polymerase chain reaction (PCR) showed an increase at 1 week.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results imply that recombinant human type II collagen is a promising biomaterial for cartilage tissue engineering, allowing homogeneous distribution in the gel and biosynthesis of extracellular matrix components.
Pulkkinen
H J
HJ
Institute of Biomedicine, Department of Anatomy, University of Kuopio, Kuopio and Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Jyväskylä Central Hospital, Jyväskylä - Finland. hertta.pulkkinen@uku.fi
Tiitu
V
V
Valonen
P
P
Hamalainen
E-R
ER
Lammi
M J
MJ
Kiviranta
I
I
D053674:Aggrecans / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D018786:Bone Substitutes; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D002417:Cattle; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D048430:Cell Shape; D002470:Cell Survival; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D024043:Collagen Type II / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005782:Gels; D006801:Humans; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds; D015854:Up-Regulation
D053674:Aggrecans; D018786:Bone Substitutes; D024043:Collagen Type II; D005782:Gels; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011994:Recombinant Proteins