Original article Study of Human Chondrocyte Redifferntiation Capacity in Three-Dimensional Hydrogel Culture

Objective(s) Articular cartilage tissue defects cannot be repaired by the proliferation of resident chondrocytes. Autologous chondrocyte transplantation (ACT) is a relatively new therapeutic approach to cover full thickness articular cartilage defects by in vitro grown chondrocytes from the joint of a patient. Therefore, we investigated the redifferentiation capability of human chondrocytes maintained in alginate culture. Materials and Methods The cartilage specimens obtained from 50 patients who underwent total knee and hip operations at the teaching hospital of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan Iran. Isolated primary chondrocytes were first grown in monolayer cultures for 1 to 6 passages (each passage lasting about 3 days). At each passage, monolayer cells seeded in alginate culture and investigated morphologically and immuno-cytologically for expression of cartilage-specific markers (collagen type II and cartilage-specific proteoglycans). Results The chondrocytes from monolayer passages P1 to P4 introduced in alginate cultures regained a chondrocyt