Effects of mechanical stress on chondrocyte phenotype and chondrocyte extracellular matrix expression

作者：Qiang Liu, Xiaoqing Hu, Xin Zhang, Xiaoning Duan, Peng Yang, Fengyuan Zhao, Yingfang Ao · 发表于：Scientific Reports · 年份：2016 · DOI：10.1038/srep37268 · 被引用次数：69 · 研究领域：Osteoarthritis Treatment and Mechanisms、Silk-based biomaterials and applications、Cell Adhesion Molecules Research

Mechanical factors play a key role in regulating the development of cartilage degradation in osteoarthritis. This study aimed to identify the influence of mechanical stress in cartilage and chondrocytes. To explore the effects of mechanical stress on cartilage morphology, we observed cartilages in different regions by histological and microscopic examination. Nanoindentation was performed to assess cartilage biomechanics. To investigate the effects of mechanical stress on chondrocytes, cyclic tensile strain (CTS, 0.5 Hz, 10%) was applied to monolayer cultures of human articular chondrocytes by using Flexcell-5000. We quantified the mechanical properties of chondrocytes by atomic force microscopy. Chondrocytes were stained with Toluidine blue and Alcian blue after exposure to CTS. The expression of extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules was detected by qPCR and immunofluorescence analyses in chondrocytes after CTS. Our results demonstrated distinct morphologies and mechanical properties in different cartilage regions. In conclusion, mechanical stress can affect the chondrocyte phenotype, thereby altering the expression of chondrocyte ECM.