OBJECTIVE A 3-dimensional alginate bead culturing method using rabbit articular chondrocytes was studied for the screening of the effectiveness of drugs for articular diseases. DESIGN The beads cultured with IL-1β, TGF-β, and Hyaluronan (HA) were evaluated histochemically with Alecian blue and immunohistochemically with CS-56 antibody. Chondrocytes in alginate beads were arbitrarily classifie...

BACKGROUND Chondrolysis initiated by postoperative, intra-articular pain pumps has recently been described by multiple institutions. PURPOSE To evaluate the in vitro chondrotoxicity of anesthetic formulations commonly used in pain pumps. STUDY DESIGN Controlled laboratory study. METHODS Freshly isolated human articular chondrocytes were cultured for 24-, 48-, and 72-hour trials in a custo...

BACKGROUND Although the clinical results of autologous chondrocyte implantation for articular cartilage defects have recently improved as a result of advanced techniques based on tissue engineering procedures, problems with cell handling and scaffold imperfections remain to be solved. A new cell-sheet technique has been developed, and is potentially able to overcome these obstacles. Chondrocyte...

Articular cartilage covers the end of bones in joints and determines the load-bearing characteristics and mobility of joints. It has a thin, smooth, low friction surface with a remarkable resiliency to compressive forces. In general, chondrocytes occupy lacunae in the matrix, and produce cartilaginous ECM (extracellular matrix), which consists of type II collagen (13%), proteoglycans (7%), and ...

INTRODUCTION The receptor activator nuclear factor-kappaB ligand (RANKL) diffuses from articular cartilage to subchondral bone. However, the role of chondrocyte-synthesized RANKL in rheumatoid arthritis-associated juxta-articular bone loss has not yet been explored. This study aimed to determine whether RANKL produced by chondrocytes induces osteoclastogenesis and juxta-articular bone loss asso...

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a multi-factorial and highly prevalent joint disorder worldwide. Since the establishment of murine surgical knee OA models in 2005, many of the key molecules and signalling pathways responsible for OA development have been identified. Here we review the roles of two multi-functional signalling pathways in OA development: Notch and nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer...

Osteoarthritis is the most common arthritic condition, which involves progressive degeneration of articular cartilage. The most recent accomplishments have significantly advanced our understanding on the mechanisms of the disease development and progression. The most intriguing is the growing evidence indicating that extracellular matrix destruction in osteoarthritic articular cartilage resembl...

Autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) is the most widely used cell-based surgical procedure for the repair of articular cartilage defects. Challenges to successful ACI outcomes include limitation in defect size and geometry as well as inefficient cell retention. Second-generation ACI procedures have thus focused on developing three-dimensional constructs using native and synthetic biomateri...

In a chronically hypoxic tissue such as cartilage, adaptations to hypoxia do not merely include cell survival responses, but also promotion of its specific function. This review will focus on describing such hypoxia-mediated chondrocyte function, in particular in the permanent articular cartilage. The molecular details of how chondrocytes sense and respond to hypoxia and how this promotes matri...

The purpose of this article is to provide a broad review of the literature related to the treatment of cartilage defects and degenerated cartilage in animals with some inferences to the treatment in humans. Methods range from the insertion of osteochondral tissue or cells to the application of radio frequency or insertion of scaffolds and growth factors alone or in combination. Debridement, mi...