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Updated: Jun 17, 2025

Fabrication of Decellularized Cartilage-derived Matrix Scaffolds
Published on: January 7, 2019
Biomimetic Proteoglycans Strengthen the Pericellular Matrix of Normal and Osteoarthritic Human Cartilage
Elizabeth R Kahle1, Hooman Fallahi1, Annika R Bergstrom2
1School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States.
Abstract:
In osteoarthritis (OA), degradation of cartilage pericellular matrix (PCM), the proteoglycan-rich immediate cell microniche, is a leading event of disease initiation. This study demonstrated that biomimetic proteoglycans (BPGs) can diffuse into human cartilage from both normal and osteoarthritic donors and are preferentially localized within the PCM. Applying immunofluorescence (IF)-guided AFM nanomechanical mapping, we show that this localization of BPGs increases the PCM micromodulus of both normal and OA specimens. These results illustrate the capability of BPGs to integrate with degenerative tissues and support the translational potential of BPGs for treating human OA and other diseases associated with proteoglycan degradation.
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