In vivo oxygen tension in human septal cartilage increases with age

Abstract

Objectives/Hypothesis Tissue-engineered septal cartilage may provide a source of autologous cartilage for repair of nasal defects. Production of clinically useful neocartilage involves multiple steps that include manipulating the culture environment. Partial pressure of oxygen (ppO2) is a property that has been shown to influence cartilage development. Specifically, studies suggest low ppO2 augments in vitro growth of articular cartilage. Although in vivo measurements of articular cartilage ppO2 have demonstrated hypoxic conditions, measurements have not been performed in septal cartilage. The objective of this study was to determine the ppO2 of septal cartilage in vivo. Study Design Prospective, basic science. Methods The ppO2 was measured in 14 patients (mean ± standard deviation age, 35.9 ± 14.5 years; range, 18–63 years) during routine septoplasty or septorhinoplasty using the OxyLab pO2 monitor (Oxford Optronix Ltd., Oxford, UK). Measurements were taken from the septum and inferior turbinate. Each patient’s age and sex were recorded. Results The average ppO2 measured at the septum and inferior turbinate was 10.5 ± 10.1 mm Hg (1.4 ± 1.3%) and 27.6 ± 12.4 mm Hg (3.6 ± 1.6%), respectively. The ppO2 of these locations was significantly different (P < .005). Advancing age was positively correlated with septal ppO2 (R2 = 0.42; P < .05). Septal ppO2 showed no significant sex variation. Conclusions This is the first report of in vivo measurement of ppO2 in septal cartilage. The data demonstrate reduced oxygenation of septal cartilage relative to the inferior turbinate. This elucidates an important characteristic of the in vivo milieu that can be applied to septal cartilage tissue engineering.

Discrepancies on the Role of Oxygen Gradient and Culture Condition on Mesenchymal Stem Cell Fate

“…[ 3a,10 ] Depending on the in vivo niche, MSCs may experience low O 2 concentrations, even lower than 1% ( Figure ). [ 5,11 ] For example, the O 2 concentration experienced by MSCs in the bone marrow varies from 1–7%, [ 12 ] 10–15% in adipose tissue, [ 13 ] 3–10% in muscles, [ 14 ] 1–2% in cartilage, [ 15 ] 1.5–8% in amniotic fluid and umbilical cord blood, [ 16 ] and 10–12% in peripheral blood. [ 11 ] This physiological O 2 concentration (physioxia) is markedly lower than the 21% O 2 found in normoxic conditions generally used for MSC culture in laboratories.…”

Relevance of Oxygen Concentration in Stem Cell Culture for Regenerative Medicine

“…However, values of 10 mmHg (1.5% O 2 ) in bone marrow have also been reported [ 66 ]. Nevertheless, fully mineralized bone tissue exists at a very low PO 2 , such as 1.4% O 2 in cartilage [ 67 ]. Finally, in the human eye (retina, corpus vitreous), PO 2 values reported a range from 1% to 5% O 2 [ 68 , 69 ].…”

Disparate response of articular- and auricular-derived chondrocytes to oxygen tension

“…The in vivo partial pressure of oxygen in articular cartilage has been estimated to be ~1% at the growth plate and up to ~10% at the articulating surface (19). In nasal cartilage, it is reported to be 1–3% in vivo (20). We are not aware of any reported measurement or estimate for auricular cartilage.…”