Protocol for the Isolation of Intact Chondrons from Healthy and Osteoarthritic Human Articular Cartilage

Ilona Uzieliene, Jaroslav Denkovskij, Eiva Bernotiene, Ursule Kalvaityte, Raminta Vaiciuleviciute, Yolande F M Ramos, Ali Mobasheri

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    Abstract

    Chondrons are the main functional microanatomical units in cartilage, consisting of chondrocytes and the directly surrounding pericellular matrix (PCM). They have attracted attention as a more physiological and biomimetic in vitro model for evaluating chondrocyte function and metabolism as compared to single chondrocytes. Chondrons may be more suitable for in vitro studies than primary chondrocytes that have been isolated without PCM since their in situ and in vivo states remain intact: chondrocytes within their PCM do not undergo the rapid dedifferentiation that proliferating single chondrocytes undergo in culture. Therefore, chondrons may be a better model for studying chondrocyte biology and responses to pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines, growth factors and novel therapeutics. In this chapter, we present a concise and unified protocol for enzymatic isolation of intact chondrons from human articular cartilage and determination of their viability.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)13-22
    Number of pages10
    JournalMethods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)
    Volume2245
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2021

    Keywords

    • Articular cartilage
    • Chondrocytes
    • Chondrons
    • Extracellular matrix (ECM)
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Pericellular matrix (PCM)

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