A popular treatment for osteoarthritis is chondrocyte implantation. However, that treatment relies on cell survival and extracellular matrix production under high mechanical stress post-injection into patients' knees. In this study, adipose-derived stem cells and articular chondrocytes were cultured separately, or co-cultivated, at various ratios and exposed to mechanical stress to mimic forces that would be applied in patients' joints. This figure shows an increase in glycosaminoglycan (GAG) production which is an essential component of the extracellular matrix that lines articulating joints. Use of Curi Bio's Cytostretcher platform allowed researchers to identify the optimum culture conditions for cartilaginous ECM production under physiologically relevant conditions.
Originally Published in: In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology - Animal (2021) (Link to Paper)
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