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Initiation of Chondrocyte Self-Assembly Requires an Intact Cytoskeletal Network.
- Source :
-
Tissue engineering. Part A [Tissue Eng Part A] 2016 Feb; Vol. 22 (3-4), pp. 318-25. Date of Electronic Publication: 2016 Jan 27. - Publication Year :
- 2016
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Abstract
- Self-assembly and self-organization have recently emerged as robust scaffold-free tissue engineering methodologies that can be used to generate various tissues, including cartilage, vessel, and liver. Self-assembly, in particular, is a scaffold-free platform for tissue engineering that does not require the input of exogenous energy to the system. Although self-assembly can generate functional tissues, most notably neocartilage, the mechanisms of self-assembly remain unclear. To study the self-assembling process, we used articular chondrocytes as a model to identify parameters that can affect this process. Specifically, the roles of cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion molecules, surface-bound collagen, and the actin cytoskeletal network were investigated. Using time-lapse imaging, we analyzed the early stages of chondrocyte self-assembly. Within hours, chondrocytes rapidly coalesced into cell clusters before compacting to form tight cellular structures. Chondrocyte self-assembly was found to depend primarily on integrin function and secondarily on cadherin function. In addition, actin or myosin II inhibitors prevented chondrocyte self-assembly, suggesting that cell adhesion alone is not sufficient, but rather the active contractile actin cytoskeleton is essential for proper chondrocyte self-assembly and the formation of neocartilage. Better understanding of the self-assembly mechanisms allows for the rational modulation of this process toward generating neocartilages with improved properties. These findings are germane to understanding self-assembly, an emerging platform for tissue engineering of a plethora of tissues, especially as these neotissues are poised for translation.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1937-335X
- Volume :
- 22
- Issue :
- 3-4
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Tissue engineering. Part A
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 26729374
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1089/ten.TEA.2015.0491