Tissue Eng Regen Med.  2017 Aug;14(4):383-391. 10.1007/s13770-017-0060-3.

Effects of Type I Collagen Concentration in Hydrogel on the Growth and Phenotypic Expression of Rat Chondrocytes

• Jin GZ
• Kim HW

• KMID: 2394972
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1007/s13770-017-0060-3

Abstract

It is controversial whether type I collagen itself can maintain and improve chondrogenic phenotype of chondrocytes in a three-dimensional (3D) environment. In this study, we examined the effect of type I collagen concentration in hydrogel (0.5, 1, and 2 mg/ml) on the growth and phenotype expression of rat chondrocytes in vitro. All collagen hydrogels showed substantial contractions during culture, in a concentration-dependent manner, which was due to the cell proliferation. The cell viability was shown to be the highest in 2 mg/ml collagen gel. The mRNA expression of chondrogenic phenotypes, including SOX9, type II collagen, and aggrecan, was significantly up-regulated, particularly in 1 mg/ml collagen gel. Furthermore, the production of type II collagen and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content was also enhanced. The results suggest that type I collagen hydrogel is not detrimental to, but may be useful for, the chondrocyte culture for cartilage tissue engineering.

Keyword

Type I collagen; Chondrocyte; Proliferation; Chondrogenic phenotype

MeSH Terms

Aggrecans
Animals
Cartilage
Cell Proliferation
Cell Survival
Chondrocytes*
Collagen
Collagen Type I*
Collagen Type II
Hydrogel*
Hydrogels
In Vitro Techniques
Phenotype
Rats*
RNA, Messenger
Tissue Engineering
Aggrecans
Collagen
Collagen Type I
Collagen Type II
Hydrogel
Hydrogels
RNA, Messenger