Behavior of fetal rat chondrocytes cultured on a bioactive glass-ceramic

Abstract

We examined the behavior of fetal rat chondrocytes cultured on a bioactive glass-ceramic containing apatite and wollastonite (A.W.G.C.). Biomaterial surface topography and profiles were evaluated by bidimensional profilometry and revealed a rough surface for the glass-ceramic compared to the plastic coverslips used as controls. Chondrocyte attachment was evaluated by measuring the number of attached cells after one day of culture and by morphological observations. Chondrocytes attached in great numbers to the material surface by means of focal contacts containing vinculin and beta1-integrin. Fluorescent labeling of actin and vimentin revealed a poor spreading of chondrocytes on the bioactive glass-ceramic compared to the plastic coverslips, where the cells appeared to adhere intimately to the surface and exhibited polygonal arrays of stress fibers. During the following days of culture, chondrocytes proliferated, colonized the surface of the material, and, finally, on day 10, formed nodular structures composed of round cells separated by a dense extracellular matrix. Furthermore, these clusters of round cells were positive for type II collagen and chondroitin sulfate, both hard markers of the chondrocyte phenotype. In addition, protein synthesis, alkaline phosphatase activity, and proteoglycan production were found to increase gradually during the culture period with a pattern similar to that observed on control cultures. These results demonstrate that the bioactive glass-ceramic tested in this study appears to be a suitable substrate for in vitro chondrocyte attachment, differentiation, and matrix production.

Isolation and chondroinduction of a dermis‐isolated, aggrecan‐sensitive subpopulation with high chondrogenic potential

“…Furthermore, the distribution of vinculin in each group mirrored its F-actin distribution (Figure 4). The observed F-actin patterns of DIAS cells and chondrocytes in this study were similar to those reported for chondrocytes in monolayer (37,38). This implies that the 2 cell types have similar cell-matrix interactions.…”

Modulation of Chondrocyte Phenotype for Tissue Engineering by Designing the Biologic−Polymer Carrier Interface

“…3). The relationship between cell shape and differentiation has been widely described 13,14,52 , and we have previously shown that causing a change in cell shape by inhibiting RhoA activation enabled the reversion of the chondrogenic phenotype from a dedifferentiated state 53 . It was also recently reported that causing mesenchymal stem cells to conform to either a spread or spheroid shape differentially induced cell differentiation towards the osteogenic and adipogenic lineages, respectively, due to shape-driven influences in signaling pathways 54 .…”

Attachment of astroglial cells to microfabricated pillar arrays of different geometries

“…Thus, it has been possible to study the responses of various cell types to numerous patterned surface features such as grooved structures, [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][31][32][33] nanometersized columns, 8,9 irregular roughness, 23,34,35 and regular arrays of micrometer-sized pillars. 9,24-27 Based on the results from the studies of surfaces with nanometer-sized pillars of random dimensions 8 and uniformly sized pillars in regular arrays, 9 our study was initiated to assess astroglial cell responses to pillars with well-defined heights (1 m), widths (0.5-2.0 m), and interpillar gaps (0.5-5.0 m).…”

“…Although most of these studies have not tried to mimic biological surfaces, more complex topographies have been shown to do so, as demonstrated by substrates patterned to direct fungi to targets. 13 Using microfabrication techniques, substrates have been patterned to study the responses of cell cultures to various topographical features such as grooves [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] , nonuniform nanometer-scale and/or roughened surfaces, 8,9,23 and arrays of pillars 9,24-27 and wells. 25,27 Surface topographies with regular as well as random geometries may be fabricated to study fundamental cell biology and control the surface properties that influence the integration of prosthetic devices into tissues.…”