title: Encapsulation of human elastic cartilage-derived chondrocytes in nanostructured fibrin-agarose hydrogels.
abstract: The generation of elastic cartilage substitutes for clinical use is still a challenge. In this study, we investigated the possibility of encapsulating human elastic cartilage-derived chondrocytes (HECDC) in biodegradable nanostructured fibrin-agarose hydrogels (NFAH). Viable HECDC from passage 2 were encapsulated in NFAH and maintained in culture conditions. Constructs were harvested for histochemical and immunohistochemical analyses after 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 weeks of development ex vivo. Histological results demonstrated that it is possible to encapsulate HECDC in NFAH, and that HECDC were able to proliferate and form cells clusters expressing S-100 and vimentin. Additionally, histochemical and immunohistochemical analyses of the extracellular matrix (ECM) showed that HECDC synthetized different ECM molecules (type I and II collagen, elastic fibers and proteoglycans) in the NFAH ex vivo. In conclusion, this study suggests that NFAH can be used to generate biodegradable and biologically active constructs for cartilage tissue engineering applications. However, further cell differentiation, biomechanical and in vivo studies are still needed.
authors: Department of Histology, Tissue Engineering Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada and Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibis. GRANADA, Granada, Spain.|Doctoral Program in Biomedicine, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
authors: Laura
authors: L
authors: García-Martínez
authors: Department of Histology, Tissue Engineering Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada and Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibis. GRANADA, Granada, Spain.
authors: Fernando
authors: F
authors: Campos
authors: Department of Histology, Tissue Engineering Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada and Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibis. GRANADA, Granada, Spain.|Unit of Histology (CIBAP), School of Medicine, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, (USACH), Santiago, Chile.
authors: Carlos
authors: C
authors: Godoy-Guzmán
authors: Department of Histology, Tissue Engineering Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada and Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibis. GRANADA, Granada, Spain.
authors: María
authors: M
authors: Del Carmen Sánchez-Quevedo
authors: Department of Histology, Tissue Engineering Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada and Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibis. GRANADA, Granada, Spain.
authors: Ingrid
authors: I
authors: Garzón
authors: Department of Histology, Tissue Engineering Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada and Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibis. GRANADA, Granada, Spain.
authors: Miguel
authors: M
authors: Alaminos
authors: Department of Histology, Tissue Engineering Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada and Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibis. GRANADA, Granada, Spain.
authors: Antonio
authors: A
authors: Campos
authors: Department of Histology, Tissue Engineering Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada and Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibis. GRANADA, Granada, Spain. vcarriel@ugr.es.
authors: Víctor
authors: V
authors: Carriel
mesh_terms: D002470:Cell Survival; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D051472:Elastic Cartilage / Q000166:cytology*; D005337:Fibrin / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D012685:Sepharose / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D020100:Hydrogels; D005337:Fibrin; D012685:Sepharose
keywords: Cell encapsulation; Cell-biomaterials interactions; Extracellular matrix; Fibrin-agarose hydrogels; Human elastic cartilage-derived chondrocytes; Tissue engineering