Tissue Engineering, Part A: Tissue Engineering 2015-11-01

Topography-Guided Proliferation: Distinct Surface Microtopography Increases Proliferation of Chondrocytes In Vitro.

Natasja Leth Joergensen, Dang Quang Svend Le, Ole Zoffmann Andersen, Morten Foss, Carl Christian Danielsen, Casper Bindzus Foldager, Martin Lind, Helle Lysdahl

Index: Tissue Eng. Part A 21 , 2757-65, (2015)

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Abstract

Chondrocyte-based cartilage repair techniques require control of articular chondrocyte expansion ex vivo. Articular chondrocytes have limited availability, and prolonged culturing to obtain a cell number sufficient for clinical use often results in phenotypic alterations and increased costs. In this study, we applied a screening library consisting of micrometer-sized topographical features, termed biosurface structure array (BSSA), to identify specific topographical microstructures affecting the proliferation of human chondrocytes in passage 1 (P1) or 2 (P2). The BSSA library comprised 10 patterns and 16 combinations of pillar size (X) and interpillar gap size (Y). Specific microstructures significantly increased the chondrocytes' proliferative responsiveness in term of patterns, X and Y for P2 compared with P1. The P1 and P2 chondrocytes responded independently to similar patterns after 4 days of culturing, whereas only chondrocytes at P2 responded to specific microstructures with Y = 1 μm and X = 2, 4 μm by a 2.3- and 4.4-fold increased proliferation, respectively. In conclusion, these findings indicate that specific surface topographies promote chondrocyte proliferation and may, indeed, be a tool to control the behavior of chondrocytes in vitro.