Stimulation of proteoglycan and DNA syntheses in chondrocytes by centrifugation

So that the effects of biomechanical forces on the proliferation of chondrocytes and their proteoglycan synthesis could be studied, growth-plate and articular chondrocytes were maintained separately as packed masses in centrifuge tubes in the presence of 10% serum. In these conditions, the cells became re-organized into cartilaginous tissue in seven days. After ten days, they were centrifuged at gravities (g) of 1.3-27 for 24 h in a CO2 incubator. Control cells were maintained in the CO2 incubator without centrifugation. Centrifugation of growth-plate chondrocytes at 3 g resulted in a two-fold increase in incorporation of [35S]sulfate into proteoglycans, but had little effect on their [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA. On the other hand, centrifugation of articular chondrocytes at 3 g for 24 h caused 1.5-fold increases in both [35S]sulfate incorporation into proteoglycans and [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA. These results suggest that biomechanical forces have different effects on the growth and differentiation of articular and growth-plate chondrocytes.