Rapid phenotypic changes in passaged articular chondrocyte subpopulations

Phenotypic differences in murine chondrocyte cell lines derived from mature articular cartilage.

OBJECTIVE To obtain well characterized immortalized murine chondrocyte cell lines. The cell lines were obtained from mature articular chondrocytes, instead of embryonal cells which are used in most other studies. METHODS Pieces of articular cartilage were cut from murine patellae and femoral heads. Chondrocytes were isolated by digestion with collagenase. These cells were cultured in monolaye...

Chondrocyte multiplication in osteoarthritic articular cartilage.

Chondrocyte ultrastructure in adult human articular cartilage.

Age changes in the ultrastructure of articular chondrocytes have been studied in detail in mice (Silberberg, Silberberg, and Feir, 1964) and in rabbits (Davies, Barnett, Cochrane, and Palfrey, 1962; Barnett, Cochrane, and Palfrey, 1963). Less has been published concerning the influence of age on cellular ultrastructure in human articular cartilage. This is due partly to the scarcity of suitable...

Changes in Pericellular Matrix Composition and Chondrocyte Morphology of Human Articular Cartilage in Osteoarthritis

INTRODUCTION: Structure and composition of articular cartilage as well as metabolic activity of chondrocytes (cartilage cells) change in osteoarthritis (OA) [1]. Among these changes, cell volume has been reported to increase [1,2]. Furthermore, the structure, composition and mechanical properties of the pericellular matrix (PCM) alter in OA [3]. However, the role of PCM in modulating volumetric...

Articular Chondrocyte Mechanics at Different Loading Rates

INTRODUCTION Mechanical impact loading is known to cause cell death and to lead to the onset and progression of osteoarthritis [1]. In order to understand why in-situ cells die readily following impact loading but remain unaffected when the same load is applied at a slow rate, we used a Finite Element model of articular cartilage and chondrocytes to study the in-situ cell mechanics, which canno...