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Updated: Dec 7, 2025
Mechanical Stimulation of Chondrocyte-agarose Hydrogels
Published on: October 27, 2012
Mechanical compression controls the biosynthesis of human osteoarthritic chondrocytes in vitro
Pan Pan Chong1, Ponnurajah Panjavarnam1, Wan Nor Hanis Wan Ahmad1
1National Orthopaedic Centre of Excellence for Research and Learning (NOCERAL), Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Background:
Cartilage damage, which can potentially lead to osteoarthritis, is a leading cause of morbidity in the elderly population. Chondrocytes are sensitive to mechanical stimuli and their matrix-protein synthesis may be altered when chondrocytes experience a variety of in vivo loadings. Therefore, a study was conducted to evaluate the biosynthesis of isolated osteoarthritic chondrocytes which subjected to compression with varying dynamic compressive strains and loading durations.
Methods:
The proximal tibia was resected as a single osteochondral unit during total knee replacement from patients (N = 10). The osteoarthritic chondrocytes were isolated from the osteochondral units, and characterized using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. The isolated osteoarthritic chondrocytes were cultured and embedded in agarose, and then subjected to 10% and 20% uniaxial dynamic compression up to 8-days using a bioreactor. The morphological features and changes in the osteoarthritic chondrocytes upon compression were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy. Safranin O was used to detect the presence of cartilage matrix proteoglycan expression while quantitative analysis was conducted by measuring type VI collagen using an immunohistochemistry and fluorescence intensity assay.
Findings:
Gene expression analysis indicated that the isolated osteoarthritic chondrocytes expressed chondrocyte-specific markers, including BGN, CD90 and HSPG-2. Moreover, the compressed osteoarthritic chondrocytes showed a more intense and broader deposition of proteoglycan and type VI collagen than control. The expression of type VI collagen was directly proportional to the duration of compression in which 8-days compression was significantly higher than 4-days compression. The 20% compression showed significantly higher intensity compared to 10% compression in 4- and 8-days.
Interpretation:
The biosynthetic activity of human chondrocytes from osteoarthritic joints can be enhanced using selected compression regimes.
