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 >

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 >

HILDA L. MONTRULL, NILDA Y. BRIZUELA, SILVIA L. DEMURTAS, LUIS SPITALE* , CARLOS I. MEIROVICH.

BIOCELL, Vol.29, No.2, pp. 163-167, 2005, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2005.29.163

Abstract Cartilage samples were taken from OA patients in order to describe and quantify pro-inflammatory mediators. Samples were cultured under aseptic conditions in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle medium at 37°C for 10 days. Control samples, taken from non-inflammatory cartilage, were cultured under the same conditions. The levels of NO^-₂ and NO^-₃ were measured in the supernatant using a spectrophotometric assay. The activity of MMP-1 was quantified by ELISA.
The concentration of NO^-_x was 47.3 ± 4.1 µM in the OA cartilague and 10.7 ± 1.8 µM in the controls. The average MMP-1 activity was 3,650 ± 387 ng/ml More >