Enhanced Chondrogenesis by Three-dimensional Co-culture of Chondrocytes and MSCs for Cartilage Regeneration

초록

Several ways of treatments with chondrocytes have been used for the repair of degenerative arthritis. However, obtaining sufficient numbers of cells for the treatments is usually difficult. This shortage problem can be overcome by co-culture of chondrocytes and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to improve chondrogenesis. In this work, a large numbers of chondrocytes could be harvested by co-cultivating chondrocytes with MSCs using three-dimensional culture system. The system was composed of controlled spheres formed in 96-well hanging drop plates. The co-culture showed higher viability and proliferation compared to the monoculture of chondrocytes in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional culture systems. Scale-up of controlled spheres was performed by rotation method in 35-mm dishes. Agglomerates of spheres were dissociated via pipetting and the controlled sphere forms were maintained for two weeks. Additionally, gene expressions related chondrogenesis were found to be improved and it was apparent that the utilization of controlled spheres promoted chondrogenesis. This approach shows the potential in cartilage regeneration as it can provide sufficient numbers of chondrocytes.