The proteoglycan metabolism of articular cartilage in joint-scale culture.

Understanding and controlling chondrocyte and cartilage metabolism in osteochondral tissues may facilitate ex vivo maintenance and application, both for allografts and tissue-engineered grafts. The hypothesis of this study was that maintenance of chondrocyte viability and matrix content and release of sulfated glycosaminoglycan (sGAG) in the articular cartilage of joint-scale osteochondral fragments are temperature and metabolism dependent. The aims were to assess, for adult goat joints, the effects of incubation temperature (37 degrees C vs. 4 degrees C) on cartilage chondrocyte viability and tissue matrix content and mechanical function, and the effects of temperature and cellular biosynthesis on sGAG release. Chondrocyte viability was maintained with 37 degrees C incubation for 28 days, but decreased by approximately 30% with 4 degrees C incubation. Concomitantly, with 37 degrees C incubation, cartilage sGAG was depleted by approximately 52% with the lost sGAG predominantly unable to aggregate with hyaluronan, whereas collagen content, tissue thickness, and tissue stiffness were maintained. The depletion of sGAG was diminished by slowing metabolism, with 4 degrees C decreasing release by approximately 79% compared with 37 degrees C incubation, and cycloheximide inhibition of cell metabolism at 37 degrees C decreasing release by approximately 47%. These results indicate that the articular cartilage of joint-scale grafts have enhanced chondrocyte viability with incubation at 37 degrees C, but may need anabolic stimuli or catabolic inhibitors to maintain sGAG content.