Cell based strategies for cartilage repair
- Resource Type
- Electronic Thesis or Dissertation
- Authors
- Katopodi, Theoni
- Source
- Subject
- 617.472
- Language
- English
Chondrocytes are the only type of cell present in articular cartilage; they produce and maintain cartilage ECM, and lose their matrix production capacity when expanded in monolayer. Expanded chondrocytes at early passage, can partially regain their chondrogenic capacity with the help of biomaterials and growth factors. In this study the aims were to explore ways to improve the chondrogenic potential of expanded human OA chondrocytes in vitro. This would ultimately lead to the optimisation of chondrogenic differentiation protocols that could be employed in cartilage tissue engineering applications.