BEP - Articular Cartilage

Difference of residual curvature in immature patellar porcine and mature tibial human cartilage due to differences in chondrocytes and proteoglycan amount and distribution

Michelle Dierdorp

Differences in curling behavior for immature patellar porcine cartilage and mature tibial human cartilage due to internal differences.

Better understanding of cartilage leads to better treatments for people who suffer from cartilage conditions such as osteoarthritis. In this research the focus was on the residual curvature of the tissue: due to stresses in the cartilage, the tissue curls when cut off the bone. This effect can be magnified by soaking the samples in a 0.015 M Sodium Chloride-solution for at least one hour. This experiment was done with immature patellar porcine and mature tibial human cartilage to see what caused the first one to not show and the second one to do show curling behavior. In addition, proteoglycan quantity and distribution were visualized using a GAG-assay and an Alcian Blue staining. Found was that the proteoglycan distribution and amount were of influence. The proteoglycans in the immature samples were homogeneously distributed whereas in mature samples they were inhomogeneously present: more proteoglycans were present in the deep zone than in the superficial zone. In addition, immature cartilage is not developed enough to have the layered-orientation of the chondrocytes.