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J JL, Parasuraman G, Amirtham SM, Francis DV, Livingston A, Goyal A, Ramasamy B, Sathishkumar S, Vinod E. Comparative assessment of chondral defect repair using migratory chondroprogenitors suspended in either gelled or freeze-dried platelet-rich plasma: An in vitro and ex vivo human osteochondral unit model study. Knee 2024; 48:105-119. [PMID: 38565037 DOI: 10.1016/j.knee.2024.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2023] [Revised: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Chondroprogenitors, with enhanced chondrogenic potential, have emerged to be a promising alternative for cell-based therapy in cartilage repair. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP), widely used for intra-articular treatment, has a short half-life. Freeze-dried PRP (FD-PRP), with an extended half-life and retained growth factors, is gaining attention. This study compares the efficacy of Migratory Chondroprogenitors (MCPs) in gelled PRP and FD-PRP using in-vitro and ex-vivo models, assessing FD-PRP as a potential off-the-shelf option for effective cartilage repair. METHODOLOGY MCPs were isolated from osteoarthritic cartilage samples (n = 3), characterized through FACS and RT-PCR. For in-vitro analysis, cells were loaded into gelled PRP and FD-PRP scaffolds at a density of 1x106 cells per scaffold. Trilineage differentiation studies and live-dead assays were conducted on MCPs using Calcein AM/Propidium Homodimer-1. In ex-vivo analysis, MCPs of the same density were added to Osteochondral Units (OCU) with chondral defects containing PRP gel and FD-PRP scaffolds, harvested on the 15th and 35th days for histological examination. Controls included cell-free scaffolds. RESULTS Our in-vitro analysis demonstrates the robust viability of MCPs in both scaffolds, with no discernible impact on their differentiation capacity. Ex-vivo analysis of the OCU for cartilage repair showed that the chondrogenic potential characterized by the accumulation of extracellular matrix containing glycosaminoglycans and collagen type II production (with no alteration in collagen type X), was observed to be better with the gel PRP and the gel PRP containing MCP groups. CONCLUSIONS These findings support the preference for gel PRP as a superior synergistic scaffold for chondroprogenitor delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeya Lisha J
- Department of Physiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India.
| | - Ganesh Parasuraman
- Centre for Stem Cell Research, (A Unit of InStem. Bengaluru), Christian Medical College, Vellore, India.
| | | | | | - Abel Livingston
- Department of Orthopaedics, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India.
| | - Anjali Goyal
- Department of Pathology, Smt NHL Municipal Medical College, Ahmedabad, India.
| | - Boopalan Ramasamy
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Australia; Department of Orthopaedics and Trauma, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, Australia.
| | | | - Elizabeth Vinod
- Department of Physiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India; Centre for Stem Cell Research, (A Unit of InStem. Bengaluru), Christian Medical College, Vellore, India.
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Francis DV, Rajeswari AJ, Stephen JB, Parasuraman G, Lisha J J, Livingston A, Rani S, Daniel AJ, Sathishkumar S, Vinod E. An ultrastructural report of human articular cartilage resident cells in correlation with their phenotypic characteristics. J Histotechnol 2024; 47:23-38. [PMID: 37966827 DOI: 10.1080/01478885.2023.2278118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023]
Abstract
The recent discovery of progenitors based on their differential fibronectin-adhesion (FAA-CPs) and migratory-based (MCPs) assay has evoked interest due to their superiority in terms of their efficient chondrogenesis and reduced hypertrophic propensity. This study aims to isolate and enrich three articular cartilage subsets, chondrocytes, FAA-CPs, and MCPs, and compare their undifferentiated and chondrogenic differentiated status, using in-vitro phenotypical characterization in correlation with ultrastructural analysis using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Following informed consent, cartilage shavings were procured from a non-diseased human ankle joint and cultured to obtain the three subsets. Chondrocytes exhibited higher CD106 and lower CD49b and CD146 levels. Following chondrogenic differentiation, corroborative results were seen, with the MCP group showing the highest GAG/DNA ratio levels and uptake of extracellular matrix stain as compared to the FAA-CP group. TEM analysis of the chondrocytes revealed the presence of more autolytic cells with disintegrated cytoplasm and plasma membrane. The differentiated FAA-CPs and MCPs displayed higher collagen and rough endoplasmic reticulum. The results presented in this study provide novel information on the ultrastructural characteristics of cartilage resident cells, with the chondrocyte group displaying features of terminal differentiation. Both progenitor subtypes showed superiority in varied contexts, with greater collagen fibrils and greater GAG content in MCPs. The display of preferential and differentiation traits sheds insight on the necessity to enrich progenitors and coculturing them with the general pool of constituent cells to combine their advantages and reduce their drawbacks to achieve a regenerative tissue displaying genuine hyaline-like repair while limiting their terminal differentiation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Ganesh Parasuraman
- Centre for Stem Cell Research, (A unit of InStem, Bengaluru), Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
| | - Jeya Lisha J
- Department of Physiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
| | - Abel Livingston
- Department of Orthopaedics, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
| | - Sandya Rani
- Centre for Stem Cell Research, (A unit of InStem, Bengaluru), Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
| | - Alfred Job Daniel
- Department of Orthopaedics, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
| | | | - Elizabeth Vinod
- Centre for Stem Cell Research, (A unit of InStem, Bengaluru), Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
- Department of Physiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
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Vinod E, Lisha J J, Parasuraman G, Livingston A, Daniel AJ, Sathishkumar S. Evaluation of ghrelin as a distinguishing marker for human articular cartilage-derived chondrocytes and chondroprogenitors. J Clin Orthop Trauma 2023; 41:102175. [PMID: 37303495 PMCID: PMC10248861 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcot.2023.102175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Revised: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/28/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose of the study Cell-based therapeutics for articular cartilage repair primarily employed bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells and chondrocytes. Research to overcome their limitation of formation of a functionally poor fibro-hyaline type of repair tissue led to the discovery of chondroprogenitors (CPCs), cartilage resident stem cells. These cells isolated by adhesion assay using fibronectin (FAA-CPs) and migration of progenitors from explants (MCPs) display higher chondrogenic and lower terminal differentiation potential. During in-vitro culture, chondrocytes tend to de-differentiate and acquire characteristics similar to stem cells, thus making it challenging to distinguish them from other cell groups. Ghrelin, a cytoplasmic growth hormone secretagogue, has been proposed to play a vital role in chondrogenesis, with reports of its higher expression in chondrocytes than BM-MSCs. The aim of this study was to compare the mRNA expression of Ghrelin between BM-MSCs, chondrocytes, FAA-CPs and MCP and the possibility of it serving as a distinguishing marker. Methods The four populations isolated from three human osteoarthritic knee joints were characterised by CD marker expression for positive (CD 90, CD73 and CD105) and negative (HLA-DR, CD34 and CD45) MSC markers and trilineage differentiation (adipogenic, osteogenic and chondrogenic) and subjected to qRT-PCR to assess Ghrelin's gene expression. Results This study showed that all groups exhibited similar expression of CD markers and multilineage potential. Though chondrocytes showed greater expression of Ghrelin, it was not statistically significant to classify it as a distinguishing marker between these cell populations. Conclusion Ghrelin does not serve to differentiate the subpopulations in terms of their mRNA expression. Further evaluation using their associated enzymes and receptors could provide valuable information to uncover their potential as unequivocal biomarkers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Vinod
- Department of Physiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
- Centre for Stem Cell Research, (A Unit of InStem, Bengaluru), Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
| | - Jeya Lisha J
- Department of Physiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
| | - Ganesh Parasuraman
- Centre for Stem Cell Research, (A Unit of InStem, Bengaluru), Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
| | - Abel Livingston
- Department of Orthopaedics, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
| | - Alfred Job Daniel
- Department of Orthopaedics, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
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Vinod E, Parasuraman G, Lisha J J, Amirtham SM, Livingston A, Varghese JJ, Rani S, Francis DV, Rebekah G, Daniel AJ, Ramasamy B, Sathishkumar S. Human fetal cartilage-derived chondrocytes and chondroprogenitors display a greater commitment to chondrogenesis than adult cartilage resident cells. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0285106. [PMID: 37104525 PMCID: PMC10138236 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 04/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Obtaining regeneration-competent cells and generating high-quality neocartilage are still challenges in articular cartilage tissue engineering. Although chondroprogenitor cells are a resident subpopulation of native cartilage and possess a high capacity for proliferation and cartilage formation, their potential for regenerative medicine has not been adequately explored. Fetal cartilage, another potential source with greater cellularity and a higher cell-matrix ratio than adult tissue, has been evaluated for sourcing cells to treat articular disorders. This study aimed to compare cartilage resident cells, namely chondrocytes, fibronectin adhesion assay-derived chondroprogenitors (FAA-CPCs) and migratory chondroprogenitors (MCPs) isolated from fetal and adult cartilage, to evaluate differences in their biological properties and their potential for cartilage repair. Following informed consent, three human fetal and three adult osteoarthritic knee joints were used to harvest the cartilage samples, from which the three cell types a) chondrocytes, b) FAA-CPCs, and MCPs were isolated. Assessment parameters consisted of flow cytometry analysis for percentage expression of cell surface markers, population doubling time and cell cycle analyses, qRT-PCR for markers of chondrogenesis and hypertrophy, trilineage differentiation potential and biochemical analysis of differentiated chondrogenic pellets for total GAG/DNA content. Compared to their adult counterparts, fetal cartilage-derived cells displayed significantly lower CD106 and higher levels of CD146 expression, indicative of their superior chondrogenic capacity. Moreover, all fetal groups demonstrated significantly higher levels of GAG/DNA ratio with enhanced uptake of collagen type 2 and GAG stains on histology. It was also noted that fetal FAA CPCs had a greater proliferative ability with significantly higher levels of the primary transcription factor SOX-9. Fetal chondrocytes and chondroprogenitors displayed a superior propensity for chondrogenesis when compared to their adult counterparts. To understand their therapeutic potential and provide an important solution to long-standing challenges in cartilage tissue engineering, focused research into its regenerative properties using in-vivo models is warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Vinod
- Department of Physiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
- Centre for Stem Cell Research, (A Unit of InStem, Bengaluru), Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
| | - Ganesh Parasuraman
- Centre for Stem Cell Research, (A Unit of InStem, Bengaluru), Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
| | - Jeya Lisha J
- Department of Physiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
| | | | - Abel Livingston
- Department of Orthopaedics, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
| | - Jithu James Varghese
- Department of Diabetes, School of Life Course Sciences, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sandya Rani
- Centre for Stem Cell Research, (A Unit of InStem, Bengaluru), Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
| | | | - Grace Rebekah
- Department of Biostatistics, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
| | - Alfred Job Daniel
- Department of Orthopaedics, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
| | - Boopalan Ramasamy
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
- Department of Orthopaedics and Trauma, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, Australia
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