Structural and functional integrity of chondrocytes immediately following isolation

Chondrocytes were isolated from costal cartilage in young rats after digestion with collagenase and hyaluronidase. The immediate survival of the cells was investigated with the use of different criteria for viability, namely structural integrity and metabolic activity. Structural integrity was studied by transmission and scanning electron microscopy, trypan blue exclusion and NADH oxidation. Metabolic activity was measured both as O2 consumption and as proline and sulphate incorporation, as indicators of collagen and proteoglycan synthesis. The cellular content of glutathione was also measured. The chondrocytes isolated were found to be structurally intact and metabolically active. Early after isolation the chondrocytes varied considerably in size similarly to the native tissue. A selective loss of the larger sized cells was observed during further incubation for 24 h.