Hyaluronic acid bonded to cell-culture surfaces stimulates chondrogenesis in stage 24 limb mesenchyme cell cultures.

The influence on the differentiation of stage 24 chick limb mesenchymal cells of hyaluronic acid (HA) covalently bonded onto plastic substrates has been examined. Under control conditions, stage 24 cells express phenotypes related to the initial plating density: When plated at high density (5 X 10(6) cells/35-mm culture dish), these cells express a chondrogenic phenotype collectively visualized as a mound or nodule of cartilage. Cartilage nodules are not found in cultures plated at intermediate or low densities, 2 X 10(6) and 1 X 10(6) cells/35-mm dish, respectively. However, when cells are plated onto HA surfaces, expression of the cartilage phenotype occurs at all three plating densities in roughly comparable frequencies. This increase in cartilage nodule formation does not appear to be due to an increased plating efficiency or increased replication rate. The observed effect is dependent on HA concentration; with an increase in bound HA, an increase in the number of cartilage nodules is observed. Digestion of HA substrates with hyaluronidase abolishes the stimulation in chondrogenesis, while no effect is observed if the HA substrates are treated with either trypsin or alkaline borohydride. No other glycosaminoglycan, except for the HA analog, unsulfated chondroitin, exhibits this unique stimulation of chondrogenic expression. While the rate of radiolabeled sulfate incorporation is dramatically increased with cells plated onto HA substrates, the protein biosynthetic rate, as evidenced by radiolabeled proline incorporation, remains unaffected. This dramatic increase in chondrogenic expression is considered in contrast to the previously reported inhibitory effect of HA substrates on myogenesis. These observations suggest that HA may have a regulatory role in the chondrogenic differentiation of chick limb mesenchymal cells.