Browsing by Subject "Chondrogenesis"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    A review of FGF18: Its expression, signaling pathways and possible functions during embryogenesis and post-natal development
    (Murcia : F. Hernández, 2007) Haque, T.; Nakada, S.; Hamdy, R.C.
    FGF18 is a novel growth factor first reported in 1998. Current evidence suggests that FGF18 may play a prominent role in chondrogenesis and osteogenesis during skeletal development and growth. However, its function extends to many other biological processes. Although there remains much to be discovered and investigated on the functions and mechanisms of FGF18, it may play a role as a useful therapeutic target for various applications. The following review summarizes the current knowledge on FGF18 with special emphasis on its skeletal functions and highlights its potential areas for future research.
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    Current knowledge of pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) in articular cartilage
    (Universidad de Murcia, Departamento de Biologia Celular e Histiologia, 2020) Lauretta, Giovanni; Ravalli, Silvia; Szychlinska, Marta Anna; Castorina, Alessandro; Maugeri, Grazia; D'Amico, Agata Grazia; D'Agata, Velia; Musumeci, Giuseppe
    Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) is an evolutionally well conserved neuropeptide, mainly expressed by neuronal and peripheral cells. It proves to be an interesting object of study both for its trophic functions during the development of several tissues and for its protective effects against oxidative stress, hypoxia, inflammation and apoptosis in different degenerative diseases. This brief review summarises the recent findings concerning the role of PACAP in the articular cartilage. PACAP and its receptors are expressed during chondrogenesis and are shown to activate the pathways involved in regulating cartilage development. Moreover, this neuropeptide proves to be chondroprotective against those stressors that determine cartilage degeneration and contribute to the onset of osteoarthritis (OA), the most common form of degenerative joint disease. Indeed, the degenerated cartilage exhibits low levels of PACAP, suggesting that its endogenous levels in adult cartilage may play an essential role in maintaining physiological properties. Thanks to its peculiar characteristics, exogenous administration of PACAP could be suggested as a potential tool to slow down the progression of OA and for cartilage regeneration approaches.
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    Differentiation of human mesenchymal stromal cells cultured on collagen sponges for cartilage repair
    (Universidad de Murcia. Departamento de Biología Celular e Histología, 2016) Sanjurjo Rodríguez, Clara; Martínez Sánchez, Adela Helvia; Hermida Gómez, Tamara; Fuentes Boquete, Isaac; Díaz Prado, Silvia; Blanco, Francisco J.
    y. Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation of human bone-marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (hBMSCs) cultured on collagen biomaterials. Materials and Methods: hBMSCs were seeded on five different collagen (Col) sponges: C1C2 (types I and II Col), C1C2HS (types I and II Col plus heparan sulphate (HS)), C1C2CHS (types I and II Col plus chondroitin sulphate (CHS)), C1-OLH3 (type I Col plus low molecular weight heparin) and C1CHS (type I Col plus CHS). The resulting constructs were analyzed by histological and immunohistochemical staining, molecular biology and electron microscopy. Col released into culture media was measured by a dye-binding method. Results: hBMSCs on biomaterials C1C2, C1C2HS and C1C2CHS had more capacity to attach, proliferate and synthesize Col II and proteoglycans in the extracellular matrix (ECM) than on C1-OLH3 and C1CHS. The presence of aggrecan was detected only at the gene level. Total Col liberated by the cells in the supernatants in all scaffold cultures was detected. The level of Col I in the ECM was lower in C1-OLH3 and that of Col II was highest in C1C2 and C1C2HS. Electron microscopy showed differently shaped cells, from rounded to flattened, in all constructs. Col fibers in bundles were observed in C1C2CHS by transmission electron microscopy. Conclusions: The results show that Col I and Col II (C1C2, C1C2HS and C1C2CHS) biomaterials allowed cell proliferation and chondrogenic-like differentiation of hBMSCs at an early stage. Constructs cultured on C1C2HS and C1C2CHS showed better cartilage-like phenotype than the other ones.
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    Early in-vitro histological chondral differentiation
    (Murcia : F. Hernández, 1992) Gil, J.; Gimeno, M.; Murillo-Ferrol, Narciso; Bascuas, J.A.
    In vitro chondrogenesis is possible in the chick embryo from stage 4 of Hamburger and Hamilton (1951), only 18-19 hours of incubation, before somite formation. In stage 4 of Hamburger and Hamilton (1951) the chondroblasts are placed laterally to the primitive streak and notochord cells are not necessary for cartilage differentiaton.
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    Proliferative and chondrogenic potential of mesenchymal stromal cells from pluripotent and bone marrow cells
    (Universidad de Murcia, Departamento de Biologia Celular e Histiologia, 2020) Sfougataki, Irene; Varela, Ioanna; Stefanaki, Kalliope; Karagiannido, Angeliki; Roubelakis, Maria G.; Kalodimou, Vasiliki; Papathanasiou, Ioanna; Traeger-Synodinos, Joanne; Kitsiou-Tzeli, Sofia; Kitra, Vasiliki; Tsezou, Aspasia; Maria, Tzetis; Goussetis, Evgenios
    Introduction. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) can be derived from a wide range of fetal and adult sources including pluripotent stem cells (PSCs). The properties of PSC-derived MSCs need to be fully characterized, in order to evaluate the feasibility of their use in clinical applications. PSC-MSC proliferation and differentiation potential in comparison with bone marrow (BM)-MSCs is still under investigation. The objective of this study was to determine the proliferative and chondrogenic capabilities of both human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC-) and embryonic stem cell (hESC-) derived MSCs, by comparing them with BMMSCs. Methods. MSCs were derived from two hiPSC lines (hiPSC-MSCs), the well characterized Hues9 hESC line (hESC-MSCs) and BM from two healthy donors (BMMSCs). Proliferation potential was investigated using appropriate culture conditions, with serial passaging, until cells entered into senescence. Differentiation potential to cartilage was examined after in vitro chondrogenic culture conditions. Results. BM-MSCs revealed a fold expansion of 1.18x105 and 2.3x105 while the two hiPSC-MSC lines and hESC-MSC showed 5.88x1010, 3.49x108 and 2.88x108, respectively. Under chondrogenic conditions, all MSC lines showed a degree of chondrogenesis. However, when we examined the formed chondrocyte micromasses by histological analysis of the cartilage morphology and immunohistochemistry for the chondrocyte specific markers Sox9 and Collagen II, we observed that PSC-derived MSC lines had formed pink rather than hyaline cartilage, in contrast to BM-MSCs. Conclusion. In conclusion, MSCs derived from both hESCs and hiPSCs had superior proliferative capacity compared to BM-MSCs, but they were inefficient in their ability to form hyaline cartilage
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    Wnt signaling in physiological and pathological bone formation
    (Universidad de Murcia. Departamento de Biología Celular e Histología, 2019) Tan, Zhenya; Ding, Na; Lu, Haimei; Kessler, John A.; Kan, Lixin
    Wnt signaling, canonical or non-canonical, plays conserved roles in numerous physiological and pathological processes. However, it is well beyond the scope of this review to cover all functional aspects of Wnt signaling in different contexts at reasonable depth; therefore this review intends to cover only the roles of Wnt signaling in bone biology; more specifically, we intend to first update the roles of Wnt signaling in physiological bone process, including in osteogenesis and chondrogenesis, since recent years have witnessed tremendous progressions in this area, and then we seek to extend our understanding to the pathological bone process, especially to the heterotopic ossification (HO), even though the understanding of Wnt signaling in HO has been limited. We then further clarify the potential crosstalking between Wnt and other conserved signaling pathways, including FGF, GPCR and Hif1α pathways. Overall, our goal is to update the progressions, identify the general theme and the knowledge gaps and discuss the potential promising avenue for future applications in HO prevention and treatment.