BACKGROUND: The purpose of this research was to assess the extracellular matrix and chondrocytes of articular cartilage during refrigerated storage and to determine whether changes could be detected in the time frame that cartilage is stored for clinical use. MATHODS: Porcine cartilage was stored as either bisected femoral heads with bone attached or plugs without the underlying bone in cultur...

The knee articular cartilage must withstand large compressive loads, providing a soft and lubricated surface in the contact between bone epiphysis. This structure smoothies knee movements and promotes adequate load distribution. Assessing the mechanical properties of the articular cartilage and understanding its healthy behavior can be a way of preventing pathological situations like osteoarthr...

The goal of this study is to determine the effects of Insulin-Transferrin-Selenium (ITS) on proliferation of auricular chondrocytes and formation of engineered cartilage in vitro. Pig auricular monolayer chondrocytes and chondrocyte pellets were cultured in media containing 1% ITS at different concentrations of fetal bovine serum (FBS, 10%, 6%, 2%, 0%), or 10% FBS alone as a control for four we...

INTRODUCTION Although previous studies have been performed on cartilage explant cultures, the generalized dynamics of cartilage metabolism after extraction from the host are still poorly understood due to differences in the experimental setups across studies, which in turn prevent building a complete picture. METHODS In this study, we investigated the response of cartilage to the trauma susta...

Aims—To investigate the relative stability of collagen metabolites in degrading cartilage. Methods—New antipeptide antibodies to denaturation epitopes located in the N-terminal and C-terminal regions of the type II collagen helix have been made and characterised. Type II collagen fragments in the conditioned medium from cultures of degrading bovine nasal cartilage were detected by immunoblottin...

We investigated the role of the proinflammatory cytokine TNF-alpha, the second messenger C2-ceramide, and protein kinase R (PKR) in bovine articular cartilage degradation. Bovine articular cartilage explants were stimulated with C2-ceramide or TNF-alpha for 24 hours. To inhibit the activation of PKR, 2-aminopurine was added to duplicate cultures. Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) expression and ac...

We report the isolation, characterization and quantification of five octasaccharides, four hexasaccharides and two tetrasaccharides, derived from the chondroitin sulphate (CS) linkage region of 6-8-year-old bovine articular cartilage aggrecan, following digestion with chondroitin ABC endolyase. Using a novel high-pH anion-exchange chromatography (HPAEC) method, in conjunction with one- and two-...

The alginate bead culture system has unique properties that make it possible to study the accumulation and turnover of macromolecules in two distinct matrix compartments of the cartilage matrix: the cell-associated matrix (CM) and the further removed matrix (FRM). Taking advantage of this culture system, the purpose of this study was to examine age-related changes in the metabolism of hyalurona...