Fe Analsis of the Mechanical Behavior of Chondrocytes

Chondrocytes are the living cells in articular cartilage (AC). They synthesize and maintain the extracellular matrix. Their activity is regulated by the interplay of genetic and environmental factors, such as soluble mediators, extracellular matrix composition, and mechanical factors. The mechanical environment of the chondrocytes has a significant influence on the health of the joint. In past studies of the mechanical behavior of chondrocytes (Wu and Herzog, 2000; Guilak and Mow, 2000), articular cartilage was described as a biphasic material consisting of a homogeneous, isotropic, linearly elastic solid phase, and an inviscid fluid phase, although AC is known to be highly anisotropic and inhomogeneous. In this study, AC is modeled by using the microstructure-based transversely isotropic, transversely homogeneous (TITH) model proposed by Federico et al. (2003, 2004). The purpose of this study was to analyze the mechanical behavior of chondrocytes as a function of location within the tissue, and to compare the predictions of classical isotropic, homogeneous (IH) models with those obtained using the TITH model.