Effects of silkworm hemolymph and extracellular matrix on the growth of chondrocytes and hyaline-like cartilage composition

초록

In order to repair the cartilage defects by tissue engineering technology with autologous chondrocytes, silkworm hemolymph (SH) and various extracellular matrices (ECMs) were tested for chondrocyte growth and hyaline-like cartilage composition as media supplements. SH, known to be an anti-apoptotic agent, and ECMs stimulated chondrocytes to express hyaline cartilage-specific genes such as type II collagen (Col. II) and Sox9. During cultivation of the cells with SH and ECMs, cell proliferation rates were determined by the 3-4,5-dimethylthiazol-2yl-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Hyaline-like cartilage compositions were analyzed by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) as well as Western blot.