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A lot has been invested into understanding how to assemble cartilage tissue in vitro and various designs have been developed to manufacture cartilage tissue with native-like biological properties. So far, no satisfactory design has been presented. Bovine primary chondrocytes are used to self-assemble scaffold-free constructs to investigate whether mechanical loading by centrifugal force would be useful in manufacturing cartilage tissue in vitro. Six million chondrocytes were laid on top of defatted bone disks placed inside an agarose well in 50-ml culture tubes. The constructs were centrifuged once or three times per day for 15 min at a centrifugal force of 771×g for up to 4 weeks. Control samples were cultured under the same conditions without exposure to centrifugation. The samples were analysed by (immuno)histochemistry, Fourier transform infrared imaging, micro-computed tomography, biochemical and gene expression analyses. Biomechanical testing was also performed. The centrifuged tissues had a more even surface covering a larger area of the bone disk. Fourier transform infrared imaging analysis indicated a higher concentration of collagen in the top and bottom edges in some of the centrifuged samples. Glycosaminoglycan contents increased along the culture, while collagen content remained at a rather constant level. Aggrecan and procollagen α₁(II) gene expression levels had no significant differences, while procollagen α₂(I) levels were increased significantly. Biomechanical analyses did not reveal remarkable changes. The centrifugation regimes lead to more uniform tissue constructs, whereas improved biological properties of the native tissue could not be obtained by centrifugation.

A correct articular cartilage ultrastructure regarding its structural components and cellularity is important for appropriate performance of tissue-engineered articular cartilage. Various scaffold-based, as well as scaffold-free, culture models have been under development to manufacture functional cartilage tissue. Even decellularized tissues have been considered as a potential choice for cellular seeding and tissue fabrication. Pore size, interconnectivity, and functionalization of the scaffold architecture can be varied. Increased mechanical function requires a dense scaffold, which also easily restricts cellular access within the scaffold at seeding. High pore size enhances nutrient transport, while small pore size improves cellular interactions and scaffold resorption. In scaffold-free cultures, the cells assemble the tissue completely by themselves; in optimized cultures, they should be able to fabricate native-like tissue. Decellularized cartilage has a native ultrastructure, although it is a challenge to obtain proper cellular colonization during cell seeding. Bioprinting can, in principle, provide the tissue with correct cellularity and extracellular matrix content, although it is still an open question as to how the correct molecular interaction and structure of extracellular matrix could be achieved. These are challenges facing the ongoing efforts to manufacture optimal articular cartilage.

The cell-based therapies could be potential methods to treat damaged cartilage tissues. Instead of native hyaline cartilage, the current therapies generate mainly weaker fibrocartilage-type of repair tissue. A correct microenvironment influences the cellular phenotype, and together with external factors it can be used, e.g., to aid the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells to defined types of differentiated adult cells. In this study, we investigated the effect of long-term exposure to 5% low oxygen atmosphere on human chondrosarcoma HCS-2/8 cells. This atmosphere is close to normal oxygen tension of cartilage tissue. The proteome was analyzed with label-free mass spectrometric method and further bioinformatic analysis. The qRT-PCR method was used to gene expression analysis, and ELISA and dimethylmethylene blue assays for type II collagen and sulfated glycosaminoglycan measurements. The hypoxic atmosphere did not influence cell proliferation, but enhanced slightly ACAN and COL2A1 gene expression. Proteomic screening revealed a number of hypoxia-induced protein level responses. Increased ones included NDUFA4L2, P4HA1, NDRG1, MIF, LDHA, PYGL, while TXNRD1, BAG2, TXN2, AQSTM1, TNFRSF1B and EPHX1 decreased during the long-term hypoxia. Also a number of proteins previously not related to hypoxia changed during the treatment. Of those S100P, RPSS26, NDUFB11, CDV3 and TUBB8 had elevated levels, while ALCAM, HLA-B, EIF1, and ACOT9 were lower in the hypoxia samples. In conclusion, low oxygen condition causes changes in the cellular amounts of several proteins.

Osteoarthritis is an inflammation-related disease that progressively destroys joint cartilage. This disease causes pain and stiffness of the joints, and at advanced stages, limitations to the movement or bending of injured joints. Therefore, it often restricts daily activities and the ability to work. Currently, there is no cure to prevent its progression, although certain damaged joints, such as fingers, knees and hips, can be treated with joint replacement surgeries. However, joint replacement surgeries of larger joints are very invasive operations and the joint replacements have a limited lifetime.

Cell-based therapies could offer a way to treat cartilage injuries before the ultimate damage of osteoarthritis on articular cartilage. The development of novel treatments needs both a good knowledge of articular cartilage biology and tissue engineering methods. This thesis primarily investigates the effects of mechanical cyclic stretching, a 5% low oxygen atmosphere and the Rho-kinase inhibitor, Y-27632, on protein responses in chondrocytic human chondrosarcoma (HCS-2/8) cells. Special focus is placed on Rho-kinase inhibition, relating to its potential to promote and support extracellular matrix production in cultured chondrocytes and its role in fibroblast cells as a part of direct chemical cellular differentiation. The means to enhance the production of cartilage-specific extracellular matrix is needed for cell-based tissue engineering applications, since cultured chondrocytes quickly lose their cartilage-specific phenotype.

A mechanical 8% cyclic cell stretching at a 1 Hz frequency was used to model a stretching rhythm similar to walking. The cellular stretching relates to stresses, which are directed to chondrocytes during the mechanical load. The stretch induced changes in proteins related, e.g., to certain cytoskeletal proteins, but also in enzymes associated with protein synthesis, such as eukaryotic elongation factors 1-beta and 1-delta. Hypoxic conditions were used to model the oxygen tension present in healthy cartilage tissue. Long-term hypoxia changed relative amounts in a total of 44 proteins and induced gene expressions of aggrecan and type II collagen, in addition to chondrocyte differentiation markers S100A1 and S100B. A short-term inhibition of Rho-kinase failed to induce extracellular matrix production in fibroblasts or in HCS-2/8 cells, while its long-term exposure increased the expressions of chondrocyte-specific genes and differentiation markers, and also promoted the synthesis of sulfated glycosaminoglycans by chondrocytic cells. Interestingly, Rho kinase inhibition under hypoxic conditions produced a more effective increase in chondrocyte-specific gene expression and synthesis of extracellular matrix components by HCS-2/8 cells. The treatment induced changes in the synthesis of 101 proteins and ELISA analysis revealed a sixfold higher secretion of type II collagen compared to control cells. The secretion of sulfated glycosaminoglycans was simultaneously increased by 65.8%. Thus, Rho-kinase inhibition at low oxygen tension can be regarded as a potential way to enhance extracellular matrix production and maintain a chondrocyte phenotype in cell-based tissue engineering applications.

Articular chondrocytes are slowly dividing cells that tend to lose their cell type-specific phenotype and ability to produce structurally and functionally correct cartilage tissue when cultured. Thus, culture conditions, which enhance the maintenance of chondrocyte phenotype would be very useful for cartilage research. Here we show that Rho-kinase inhibition by Y-27632 under hypoxic conditions efficiently maintains and even enhances chondrocyte-specific extracellular matrix production by chondrocytic cells. The effects of long-term Y-27632 exposure to human chondrosarcoma 2/8 cell phenotype maintenance and extracellular matrix production were studied at normoxia and at a 5% low oxygen atmosphere. Y-27632 treatment at normoxia induced ACAN and COL2A1 gene up-regulation and a minor increase of sulfated glycosaminoglycans (sGAGs), while type II collagen expression was not significantly up-regulated. A further increase in expression of ACAN and COL2A1 was achieved with Y-27632 treatment and hypoxia. The production of sGAGs increased by 65.8%, and ELISA analysis revealed a 6-fold up-regulation of type II collagen. Y-27632 also induced the up-regulation of S100-A1 and S100-B proteins and modified the expression of several other S100 protein family members, such as S100-A4, S100-A6, S100-A13 and S100-A16. The up-regulation of S100-A1 and S100-B proteins is suggested to enhance the chondrocytic phenotype of these cells.

Articular chondrocytes are slowly dividing cells that tend to lose their cell type-specific phenotype and ability to produce structurally and functionally correct cartilage tissue when cultured. Thus, culture conditions, which enhance the maintenance of chondrocyte phenotype would be very useful for cartilage research. Here we show that Rho-kinase inhibition by Y-27632 under hypoxic conditions efficiently maintains and even enhances chondrocyte-specific extracellular matrix production by chondrocytic cells. The effects of long-term Y-27632 exposure to human chondrosarcoma 2/8 cell phenotype maintenance and extracellular matrix production were studied at normoxia and at a 5% low oxygen atmosphere. Y-27632 treatment at normoxia induced ACAN and COL2A1 gene up-regulation and a minor increase of sulfated glycosaminoglycans (sGAGs), while type II collagen expression was not significantly up-regulated. A further increase in expression of ACAN and COL2A1 was achieved with Y-27632 treatment and hypoxia. The production of sGAGs increased by 65.8%, and ELISA analysis revealed a 6-fold up-regulation of type II collagen. Y-27632 also induced the up-regulation of S100-A1 and S100-B proteins and modified the expression of several other S100 protein family members, such as S100-A4, S100-A6, S100-A13 and S100-A16. The up-regulation of S100-A1 and S100-B proteins is suggested to enhance the chondrocytic phenotype of these cells.

The idea of direct differentiation of somatic cells into other differentiated cell types has attracted a great interest recently. Rho-kinase inhibitor Y-27632 (ROCKi) is a potential drug molecule, which has been reported to support the gene expressions typical for the chondrocytes, thus restricting their phenotypic conversion to fibroblastic cells upon the cellular expansion. In this study, we have investigated the short-term biological responses of ROCKi to human primary foreskin fibroblasts. The fibroblast cells were exposed to 1 and 10 μM ROCKi treatments. A proteomics analysis revealed expression changes of 56 proteins, and a further protein pathway analysis suggested their association with the cell morphology, the organization, and the increased cellular movement and the proliferation. These functional responses were confirmed by a Cell-IQ time-lapse imaging analysis. Rho-kinase inhibitor treatment increased the cellular proliferation up to twofold during the first 12 h, and a wound model based migration assay showed 50% faster filling of the mechanically generated wound area. Additionally, significantly less vinculin-associated focal adhesions were present in the ROCKi-treated cells. Despite the marked changes in the cell behavior, ROCKi was not able to induce the expression of the chondrocyte-specific genes, such as procollagen α1 (II) and aggrecan.

For proteomic analysis, cartilage molecular composition is a challenging mixture of highly glycosylated proteoglycans and triple-helical collagens, which constitute the major part of cartilage macromolecules. Selective separation of these molecules from the minor components is generally needed before mass spectrometry-based identification of lower-abundancy proteins is possible. The cell density of cartilage is also very low, therefore, cell cultures offer an easier approach to study cellular responses of chondrocytic cells, e.g., to mechanical stimuli. In this study, we investigated the phosphorylation events in human chondrosarcoma cells during cellular stretching. Human chondrosarcoma cells were stretched to 8% strain at a frequency of 1 Hz. One set of experiments included cellular stretching which lasted 2 hours, and the other one included experiments of 2 hours daily treatment for up to 3 days. Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis combined with chromatographic phosphoprotein pre-enrichment and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry-based protein identification was used to reveal changes of phosphoproteins in cells exposed to cyclic stretching. We discovered that 2 hours cyclic stretching increased the phosphorylation of moesin, elongation factor eEF1D and leprecan, while the phosphorylation of elongation factor eEF1B decreased after cellular stretching. Western blot analyses with phospho-specific antibodies suggested that stretching induces phosphorylation of ERK of the MAP kinase pathway, but did not induce phosphorylation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. In conclusion, the proteomic approach revealed that cellular stretching induced specific phosphorylation changes in chondrosarcoma cells.