ScienceAsia 33 (2007): 145-152 |doi: 10.2306/scienceasia1513-1874.2007.33.145

The Expansion Potential of Human Nasal Septum Chondrocytes for the Formation of Engineered Cartilage

Ruszymah Binti Haji Idrusa,^b*, Chua Kien Huia,^b, Farah Wahida Ibrahim^b, Fuzina Nor Hussein^c, and Aminuddin Bin Saim^d,b

 
ABSTRACT: Recent development in tissue engineering has enabled a new approach in tissue repair and reconstructive surgery using patient’s own cells. Human nasal septum cartilage is an optimum candidate as a starting material for this purpose. It is essential to understand the basic requirements for monolayer culture expansion of human nasal septum chondrocytes before using it in tissue engineering. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of different media; Ham’s F12 Medium, Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) or the equal combination of both media (F12:DMEM) on monolayer culture expansion of human nasal septum chondrocytes. A hydrogel, Pluronic F-127, was used as a biomaterial for cartilage reconstruction in nude mice with culture expanded chondrocytes. We demonstrated that F12:DMEM in 1:1 ratio promoted the highest human nasal septum chondrocytes proliferation and provided sufficient numbers of chondrocytes for cartilage engineering. This medium was effective for culture expansion to more than 2000 folds within 8 weeks. Although none of the medium maintained the chondrocytes’ phenotype in long-term culture, the dedifferentiated cultured chondrocytes re-express collagen type II gene after being reconstructed into engineered tissue with Pluronic F-127. This hydrogel provided a 3-dimensional environment for cultured chondrocytes to regain their chondrocytic phenotype and thus initiate the generation of a good quality engineered cartilage.

KEYWORDS: Human Chondrocyte, Tissue Engineering, Cartilage, Hydrogel.

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^a Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
^b Tissue Engineering Laboratory Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Yaacob Latif, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
^c Animal Unit, Institute for Medical Research, Jalan Pahang, 50588 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
^d Suite 1-1, Ear, Nose and Throat Consultant Clinic, Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital, Jalan Mamanda 9, Taman Dato Ahmad Razali, 68000 Ampang, Selangor, Malaysia.

* Corresponding author, E-mail: ruszy@medic.ukm.my

Received 26 Jul 2005, Accepted 29 Sep 2006