Affiliations: IBCP, Institut de Biologie et Chimie des Protéines, Lyon; CNRS, UMR 5086, University of Lyon; University of Lyon 1; IFR 128, Lyon, France | SYMATESE biomatériaux, ZI Les troques, Chaponost, France
Note: [] Address for correspondence: A.M. Freyria, IBCP, 7 passage du Vercors, 69007 Lyon, F-69367, France. Tel.: +33 (0) 472 722 617; Fax: +33 (0) 472 722 604; E-mail: am.freyria@ibcp.fr.
Abstract: Articular cartilage has a limited capacity for self-repair after trauma. Besides the conventional surgical techniques for repairing such defects, treatments involve implantation of autologous cells in suspension or within a variety of cell carrying scaffolds such as hyaluronic acid, alginate, agarose/alginate, fibrin or collagen. For the repair of full-thickness osteochondral defects, tissue engineers started to design single- or bi-phased scaffold constructs often containing hydroxyapatite-collagen composites, usually used as a bone substitute. The purpose of this study was to compare the behavior of bovine chondrocytes cultured in collagen-based scaffolds containing or not hydroxyapatite and cross-linked following two different methods. Calf chondrocytes seeded within Hemotèse® and Collapat® II sponges (SYMATESE biomaterials), chemically cross-linked with glutaraldehyde or EDC/NHS, were maintained up to one month in culture. The cells exhibited a similar behavior in the four scaffolds regarding proliferation level, deposition of glycosaminoglycans in the scaffolds and gene expression of types I, II and X collagens, aggrecan, MMP-1, -13 and the integrin subunits α10 and α11.
