title: Effect of microcavitary alginate hydrogel with different pore sizes on chondrocyte culture for cartilage tissue engineering.
abstract: In our previous work, a novel microcavitary hydrogel was proven to be effective for proliferation of chondrocytes and maintenance of chondrocytic phenotype. In present work, we further investigated whether the size of microcavity would affect the growth and the function of chondrocytes. By changing the stirring rate, gelatin microspheres in different sizes including small size (80-120μm), middle size (150-200μm) and large size (250-300μm) were prepared. And then porcine chondrocytes were encapsulated into alginate hydrogel with various sizes of gelatin microspheres. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), Live/dead staining and real-time PCR were used to analyze the effect of the pore size on cell proliferation and expression of specific chondrocytic genes. According to all the data, cells cultivated in microcavitary hydrogel, especially in small size, had preferable abilities of proliferation and higher expression of cartilaginous markers including type II collagen, aggrecan and cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP). Furthermore, it was shown by western blot assay that the culture of chondrocytes in microcavitary hydrogel could improve the proliferation of cells potentially by inducing the Erk1/2-MAPK pathway. Taken together, this study demonstrated that chondrocytes favored microcavitary alginate hydrogel with pore size within the range of 80-120μm for better growth and ECM synthesis, in which Erk1/2 pathway was involved. This culture system would be promising for cartilage tissue engineering.
authors.affiliation: School of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China; National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, Guangzhou 510006, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Yongchang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: Dong-An
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiaofeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000464:Alginates / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D020723:Glucuronic Acid / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D006603:Hexuronic Acids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System / Q000187:drug effects; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008863:Microspheres; D016062:Porosity; D034421:Sus scrofa; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000464:Alginates; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate; D020723:Glucuronic Acid
keywords: Chondrocyte; Hydrogel; Microcavitary; Signal pathway