FLOW CYTOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF NORMAL AND OSTEOARTHRITIC CHONDROCYTES
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| Year of publication | 2023 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
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| Description | Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common degenerative joint disease characterized by increased degradation of cartilage tissue in the joint due to overexpression of proteolytic enzymes degrading extracellular matrix (ECM). OA is characterized by cartilage degradation, osteophyte formation, and stiffening of joints. Due to the inability of resident chondrocytes to regenerate the ECM with the same properties as it was formed during development, the probability of spontaneous regeneration is very low. Treatment is aimed at alleviating symptoms such as pain and swelling. The last option is a total replacement of the joint. Regenerative medicine using cells as therapeutics offers a large hope in treating OA. The main problem and challenge of advanced therapy medicinal product (ATMP) based on cultured human articular chondrocytes (HACs) is that chondrocytes transferred into monolayer culture, lose their typical properties – round morphology changes to fibroblast-like spindle shape, and cartilaginous protein synthesis decreases. This phenomenon is termed dedifferentiation. Our working hypothesis was that modification of growth media can modify chondrocytes’ properties, ideally increasing the synthesis of ECM, mainly collagen type II (COL2). We needed to identify surface markers correlated with the differentiation status of monolayer expanded HACs and to define the degree of dedifferentiation. We selected 3 surface markers that should determine the state of the cell (CD44, CD54, CD90). Our results indicate that increased expression of CD54 is therefore associated with a response to inflammatory stimulation. In the absence of an inflammatory reaction, the cellular distribution of this marker is reduced, in healthy cartilage the expression of this marker was not detected at all. The high level of expression of the markers CD44 and CD90 is directly connected with the good chondrogenic capacity of the cells and the ability to produce a matrix with a high content of COL2. |
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