title: Effects of co-culturing BMSCs and auricular chondrocytes on the elastic modulus and hypertrophy of tissue engineered cartilage.
abstract: Co-culture of BMSCs and chondrocytes is considered as a promising strategy to generate tissue engineered cartilage as chondrocytes induce the chondrogenesis of BMSCs and inhibit the hypertrophy of engineered cartilage. Because the tissue specific stem/progenitor cells have been isolated from mature tissues including auricular cartilage, we hypothesized that adding stem cells to auricular chondrocytes in co-culture would also enhance the quality of engineered cartilage. In the present study, using the histological assay, biomechanical evaluation, and quantitative analysis of gene expression, we compared different strategies of auricular chondrocytes, BMSCs induction, and co-culture at different ratios on PGA/PLA scaffolds to construct tissue engineered elastic cartilage in vitro and in vivo. The up-regulation of RUNX2 and down-regulation of SOX9 were found in BMSCs chondrogenic induction group, which might imply a regulatory mechanism for the hypertrophy and potential osteogenic differentiation. Engineered cartilage in co-culture 5:5 group showed the densest elastic fibers and the highest Young's modulus, which were consistent with the expression profile of cartilage matrix-related genes including DCN and LOXL2 genes. Moreover, the better proliferative and chondrogenic potentials of engineered cartilage in co-culture 5:5 group were demonstrated by the stronger expression of Ki67 and Dlk1.
authors.affiliation: Research Center of Plastic Surgery Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100144, PR China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Xia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Fuxing
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Xun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Yilin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Ran
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Xiao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D002356:Cartilage / Q000166:cytology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D018920:Coculture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D050659:Core Binding Factor Alpha 1 Subunit / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004425:Ear Cartilage / Q000166:cytology*; D055119:Elastic Modulus / Q000502:physiology*; D006984:Hypertrophy / Q000503:physiopathology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D055758:SOX9 Transcription Factor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013552:Swine; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D050659:Core Binding Factor Alpha 1 Subunit; D055758:SOX9 Transcription Factor