In osteoarthritis (OA), low-grade joint inflammation promotes altered chondrocyte differentiation and cartilage catabolism. S100/calgranulins share conserved calcium-binding EF-hand domains, associate noncovalently as homodimers and heterodimers, and are secreted and bind receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE). Chondrocyte RAGE expression and S100A11 release are stimulated by IL-1b...

background: while articular chondrocytes are among those appropriate candidates for cartilage regeneration, the cell dedifferentiation during monolayer culture has limited their application. several investigations have indicated the usefulness of alginate, but the topic of proliferation and differentiation of chondrocytes in alginate culture has still remained controversial. methods: rat articu...

Joints that have degenerated as a result of aging or injury contain dead chondrocytes and damaged cartilage. Some studies have suggested that chondrocyte death precedes cartilage damage, but how the loss of chondrocytes affects cartilage integrity is not clear. In this study, we examined whether chondrocyte death undermines cartilage integrity in aging and injury using a rapid 3D confocal carti...

The effect of using vitrified-thawed chondrocyte sheets on articular cartilage repair was examined because the methods for storing chondrocyte sheets are essential for allogeneic chondrocyte sheet transplantation. Six Japanese white rabbits were used as sources of articular chondrocytes and synovial cells. Chondrocytes were harvested from the femur, and synovial cells were harvested from inside...

BMP2 (bone morphogenetic protein 2) is known to activate unfolded protein response signaling molecules, including XBP1S and ATF6. However, the influence on XBP1S and ATF6 in BMP2-induced chondrocyte differentiation has not yet been elucidated. In this study, we demonstrate that BMP2 mediates mild endoplasmic reticulum stress-activated ATF6 and directly regulates XBP1S splicing in the course of ...

Conventional culture methods using temperature-responsive culture dishes require 4-5 weeks to prepare layered chondrocyte sheets that can be used in articular cartilage repair and regeneration. This study investigated whether the use of synovial tissue obtained from the same joint as the chondrocyte nutritive supply source could more quickly facilitate the preparation of chondrocyte sheets. Aft...

BACKGROUND Autologous chondrocyte transplantation is a promising technique for treatment of cartilage defects. Three dimensional chondrocyte cultures on a scaffold are widely used to retain the chondrogenic phenotype. Using a biodegradable gelatin scaffold is one option for the cell delivery system, but molecular and histological studies of the method have not yet been done. METHODS We evalua...

Articular cartilage is characterized by the lack of blood vessels and has a poor self-healing potential. Limited cell numbers and dedifferentiation of chondrocytes when expanded in vitro are the major obstacles of autologous chondrocyte implantation. Autologous chondrocyte implantation is a cell-based treatment that can be used as a second-line measure to regenerate chondral or osteochondral de...

In this study, we investigate the effects of treatment with layered chondrocyte sheets and synovial cell transplantation. An osteochondral defect was created of 48 Japanese white rabbits. In order to determine the effects of treatment, the following 6 groups were produced: (A) synovial cells (1.8 × 10(6) cells), (B)layered chondrocyte sheets (1.7 × 10(6) cells), (C) synovial cells (3.0 × 10(5) ...

the importance of mesenchymal stem cells (mscs), as adult stem cells (ascs) able to divide into a variety of different cells is of utmost importance for stem cell researches. in this study, the ability of cartilage extract to induce differentiation of rat derived omentum tissue mscs (rot-mscs) into chondrocyte cells (ccs) was investigated. after isolation of rot-mscs, they were co-cultured with...