Abstract

To explore the biological characteristics of an injectable chondrocytes-alginate hydrogel, constructs in the presence of glucan HBP-A as well as its role in cartilage tissue engineering, chondrocytes were isolated from rabbit knee cartilage and verified by immunocytochemistry for type II collagen. The constructs were embedded with HBP-A and then injected to nude mice subcutaneously. Six weeks after transplantaiton, the specimens were collected for Safranin O staining and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The mRNA expressions of disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs 5 (ADAMTs-5), aggrecan and type II collegan in constructs were determined by real time PCR. Newly generated cartilaginous tissue was found after transplantation, and the collagen was obvious in the HBP-A group. In accordance with morphological observations, the mRNA expression of type II collagen was also increased significantly, accompanied by decreased expression of ADAMTs-5 (P<0.05) in the HBP-A group compared with the control group.

Key words: Glucan, chondrocyte, cartilage, hydrogel constructs, type II collagen.