MINGCAI ZHANG, TANNER CAMPBELL, SPENCER FALCON, JINXI WANG^*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.10, pp. 2125-2132, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.030161 - 08 November 2023

Abstract Osteoarthritis (OA), the most common form of joint disease, is characterized clinically by joint pain, stiffness, and deformity. OA is now considered a whole joint disease; however, the breakdown of the articular cartilage remains the major hallmark of the disease. Current treatments targeting OA symptoms have a limited impact on impeding or reversing the OA progression. Understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying OA development is a critical barrier to progress in OA therapy. Recent studies by the current authors’ group and others have revealed that the nuclear factor of activated T cell 1 (NFAT1), More > Graphic Abstract

KAN OUYANG^1,2,#, MEIQUAN XU^3,#, YUJIE LIANG⁴, XIAO XU², LIMEI XU², CAINING WEN^1,2, ZHUAN QIN², YIXIN XIE², HUAWEI ZHANG⁵, LI DUAN^2,*, DAPING WANG^1,2,5,*

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.6, pp. 1521-1526, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.018788 - 07 February 2022

Abstract There is no efficient tracking system available for the therapeutic molecules delivered to cartilage. The dense matrix covering the cartilage surface is the main biological barrier that the therapeutic molecules must overcome. In this study, we aimed to establish a system that can dynamically and effectively track the therapeutic molecules delivered to cartilage. To this aim, we adopted bovine and human cartilage explants as ex vivo models for chondrocyte-targeted exosome dispersion. The efficiency of drug delivery was evaluated using frozen sections. The results of this study showed that the penetration and distribution of chondrocyte-targeted exosomes in More >

Lucy Wanjiru Njunge¹, Andreanne Poppy Estania¹, Li Yang^1,*

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.16, Suppl.2, pp. 94-94, 2019, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2019.07116

Abstract Mechanical stimulation contributes to the development, homeostasis, integrity and functionality of the articular cartilage by modulating several cellular activities including production and remodeling of extracellular matrix (ECM), chondrocyte differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis. On the other hand, abnormal mechanical strain play a critical role in osteoarthritis (OA) pathogenesis by inducing ECM degradation and chondrocyte apoptosis. Furthermore, deleterious mechanical loading can also stimulates the production of pro-inflammatory mediators such as interleukin 1β (IL-1β) that promote to cartilage degradation, chondrocyte hypertrophy and inflammation [1]. Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K (hnRNPK), a member of the hnRNP family, is implicated in… More >

Zongqiang GAO¹, Xiong GUO², Junchang CHEN¹, Chen DUAN²

BIOCELL, Vol.43, No.2, pp. 99-102, 2019, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2019.06520

Abstract This study aimed to investigate the effect of hyaluronic acid (HA) on the expression of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) in chondrocytes isolated from patients with osteoarthritis (OA) and Kashin-Beck disease (KBD). The chondrocytes were collected from OA and KBD patients, and chondrocytes isolated from patients of accident injuries were used as the control. The chondrocytes were treated with HA at different doses. HSP70 expression in chondrocytes at both mRNA and protein levels was tested by PCR and Western blot analysis. Compared with control, both mRNA and protein levels of HSP70 were higher in chondrocytes More >

Idalba A. Hidalgo A.^∗, Felipe Sojo^†, Francisco Arvelo^†, Marcos A. Sabino^∗,‡

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.10, No.2, pp. 85-105, 2013, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2013.010.085

Abstract The electrospinning technique is a method used to produce nano and microfibers using the influence of electrostatic forces. Porous three dimensional networks of continuous and interconnected fibers as scaffolds were obtained from a poly (lactic acid) solution. The concentration of the polymeric solution, 12.5% m/w, as well as the conditions of voltage (V=11kV) and tip-metallic collector distance (H=13cm) were established to develop these scaffolds through the electrospinning process. The characteristics of the scaffolds, such as fiber diameter, sintering and the biomimetics of the characteristics of a native extra cellular matrix were verified by Scanning Electron More >

Wangping Duan^∗, Lei Wei^†, Juntao Zhang^∗, Yongzhuang Hao^∗, Chunjiang Li^∗, Hao Li^∗, Qi Li^∗, Quanyou Zhang^‡, Weiyi Chen^‡, Xiaochun Wei^∗,§

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.8, No.4, pp. 253-274, 2011, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2011.008.253

Abstract The cytoskeleton network is believed to play an important role in the biomechanical properties of the chondrocyte. Ours and other laboratories have demonstrated that chondrocytes exhibit a viscoelastic solid creep behavior in vitro and that viscoelastic properties decrease in osteoarthritic chondrocytes. In this study, we aimed to understand whether the alteration of viscoelastic properties is associated with changes in cytoskeleton components of ageing chondrocytes from rabbit knee articular cartilage. Three age groups were used for this study: young (2-months-old, N=23), adult (8-months-old, N=23), and old (31-months-old, N=23) rabbit groups. Cartilage structure and proteoglycan and type II… More >

Rami K Korhonen^∗,†, Sang-Kuy Han^‡, Walter Herzog^‡

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.7, No.3, pp. 125-134, 2010, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2010.007.125

Abstract Changes in the osmotic environment cause changes in volume of isolated cells and cells in tissue explants, and the osmotic environment becomes hypotonic in cartilage diseases such as osteoarthritis (OA). However, it is not known how cells respond to a hypotonic osmotic challenge when situated in the fully intact articular cartilage.
A confocal laser scanning microscope was used to image chondrocytes of intact rabbit patellae in an isotonic (300 mOsm) and hypotonic (172 mOsm) immersion medium. Cell volumes were calculated before and 5, 15, 60, 120 and 240 minutes after the change in saline concentration. Local… More >

Dominik R. Haudenschild^∗,†, Jianfen Chen^∗,†, Nikolai Steklov^†, Martin K. Lotz^*, Darryl D. D’Lima^∗,‡

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.6, No.3, pp. 135-144, 2009, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2009.006.135

Abstract The actin cytoskeleton is a dynamic network required for intracellular transport, signal transduction, movement, attachment to the extracellular matrix, cellular stiffness and cell shape. Cell shape and the actin cytoskeletal configuration are linked to chondrocyte phenotype with regard to gene expression and matrix synthesis. Historically, the chondrocyte actin cytoskeleton has been studied after formaldehyde fixation - precluding real-time measurements of actin dynamics, or in monolayer cultured cells. Here we characterize the actin cytoskeleton of living low-passage human chondrocytes grown in three-dimensional culture using a stably expressed actin-GFP construct. GFP-actin expression does not substantially alter the… More >

Nikolai Steklov^*, Ajay Srivastava^*, K.L.P. Sung^†, Peter C. Chen^†, Martin K. Lotz^*, Darryl D. D’Lima^‡

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.6, No.2, pp. 113-119, 2009, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2009.006.113

Abstract The biomechanical properties of articular cartilage change profoundly with aging. These changes have been linked with increased potential for cartilage degeneration and osteoarthritis. However, less is known about the change in biomechanical properties of chondrocytes with increasing age. Cell stiffness can affect mechanotransduction pathways and may alter cell function. We measured aging-related changes in the biomechanical properties of chondrocytes. Human chondrocytes were isolated from knee articular cartilage within 48 hours after death or from osteochondral specimens obtained from knee arthroplasty. Cells were divided into two age groups: between 18 and 35 years (18 -- 35);… More >

J. M. Taboas¹, R. S. Tuan¹

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.3, No.4, pp. 189-191, 2006, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2006.003.189

Abstract This article has no abstract. More >