Quantitative structural organization of normal adult human articular cartilage

Hunziker, Ernst B.; Quinn, Thomas M.; Häuselmann, H. J.

doi:10.1053/joca.2002.0814

Cited by 435 publications

(423 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Due to methodological differences, direct comparisons with other studies are difficult. However, to compare our results to previous studies, we calculated the ratio between the densities of the superficial zone and the deeper zones and found that it was comparable to those of other studies (Hunziker et al, 2002;Quinn et al, 2005;Temple et al, 2007).…”

Section: Cell Density and Split Linessupporting

confidence: 88%

“…Interestingly, our results showed no differences between the superficial densities of the different articular surfaces that were analyzed (Figure 5), suggesting that the observed spatial, numerical and proximity based differences were local occurrences whose presence did not affect the bulk cell density. As shown previously for articular cartilage (Hunziker et al, 2002;Quinn et al, 2005;Stockwell, 1971), all cartilages of the knee and ankle joints showed significantly higher cell densities in their superficial zones than in their corresponding deeper zones (p < 0.05). In the shoulder and elbow joints, a trend to higher superficial than deeper zones cell densities was observed.…”

Section: Cell Density and Split Linessupporting

confidence: 81%

“…An additional potential problem is that conventional histological analyses on tissue sections are looked at in the vertical plane. When viewed vertically, superficial chondrocytes appear as single cells (Hunziker et al, 2002). However, we recently showed that chondrocytes within the superficial zone of normal human ankle cartilage were arranged in horizontal clusters parallel to the articular surface .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Studies that were undertaken to further clarify the unique role of the superficial zone thus far have concentrated on cell shape (Hunziker et al, 2002;Jadin et al, 2005), cell density (Bywaters, 1937;Hunziker et al, 2002;Jadin et al, 2005;Quinn et al, 2005;Stockwell, 1971), cytoskeletal organization (Kim and Spector, 2000), growth-related changes in the bovine chondrocyte organization (Jadin et al, 2007), single cell mechanical properties (Jurvelin et al, 1996), gene expression (Darling et al, 2004;Jay et al, 2001;Khan et al, 2001;Schumacher et al, 1994), and metabolism (Eger et al, 2002). While it is widely accepted that the organization of human chondrocytes of the radial zones occur in vertical columns and the transitional zone in small "random" groups (Aydelotte and Kuettner, 1988;Brighton et al, 1984;Kuettner et al, 1991), it remains unclear how the human chondrocytes of the superficial zone are organized.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Distinct horizontal patterns in the spatial organization of superficial zone chondrocytes of human joints

Rolauffs

Williams

Grodzinsky

et al. 2008

Journal of Structural Biology

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A better understanding of the unique cellular and functional properties of the superficial zone of articular cartilage may aid current strategies in tissue engineering which attempts a layered design for the repair of cartilage lesions to avert or postpone the onset of osteoarthritis. However, data pertaining to the cellular organization of non-degenerated superficial zone of articular cartilage is not available for most human joints. The present study analyzed the arrangement of chondrocytes of non-degenerated human joints (shoulder, elbow, knee, and ankle) by using fluorescence microscopy of the superficial zone in a top-down view. The resulting horizontal chondrocyte arrangements were tested for randomness, homogeneity or a significant grouping via point pattern analysis and were correlated with the joint type in which they occurred. The present study demonstrated that human superficial chondrocytes occurred in four distinct patterns of strings, clusters, pairs or single chondrocytes. Those patterns represented a significant grouping (p<0.0001) with horizontal alignment. Each articular joint surface was dominated by only one of these four patterns (p<0.001). Specific patterns correlated with specific diarthrodial joint types (p<0.001). Further studies need to establish whether these organizational patterns are a consequence of their surrounding environment or whether they are linked to a functional purpose.

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Section: Cell Density and Split Linessupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Cell Density and Split Linessupporting

confidence: 81%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Distinct horizontal patterns in the spatial organization of superficial zone chondrocytes of human joints

Rolauffs

Williams

Grodzinsky

et al. 2008

Journal of Structural Biology

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“…[3][4][5] The composition of articular cartilage varies with the zones, with the superficial zone showing the highest collagen content and cellularity and the lowest proteoglycan content. [6][7][8] Proteoglycan content has generally been shown to be highest in the middle zone. 8 In osteoarthritis, degenerative changes in the articular cartilage and other joint tissues result in pain, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the joint.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Composition and transport properties of human ankle and knee cartilage

Fetter

Leddy

Guilak

et al. 2005

Journal Orthopaedic Research

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ABSTRACT:The incidence of osteoarthritis is significantly higher in the knee as compared to the ankle, suggesting that differences in the properties of cartilage from these joints may contribute to the development of osteoarthritis. As an avascular tissue, articular cartilage depends primarily upon diffusion for molecular transport. The goal of this study was to determine if differences in the structure and composition between ankle and knee cartilage were also reflected as differences in solute transport properties. The diffusion coefficient and partition coefficient of a 70-kDa dextran molecule were measured in human ankle and knee articular cartilage using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and were compared to the proteoglycan, collagen, water, and DNA contents within each zone. The mean partition coefficient was significantly lower in the ankle compared to the knee (0.010 AE 0.002 vs. 0.022 AE 0.003, p < 0.01), but no differences in the diffusion coefficients were observed (34.6 AE 0.9 mm 2 s À1 vs. 35.4 AE 2.4 mm 2 s À1 , p ¼ 0.70). Ankle cartilage exhibited higher proteoglycan content as well as a trend toward lower water content, suggesting that ankle cartilage has a smaller effective pore size than knee cartilage. These findings suggest that differences in the composition of ankle and knee cartilage contribute to a difference in the partition coefficient. The results of this study provide further support for the hypothesis that the transport properties of cartilage may play a role in the differences in the incidence of osteoarthritis in these joints by altering the effective concentration of growth factors and cytokines to which chondrocytes are exposed. ß

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Bio‐Inspired 3D Environments for Cartilage Engineering

Ribelles

2012

Biomimetic Approaches for Biomaterials Development

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José Luis Gómez Ribelles to Concha Articular Cartilage HistologyHyaline cartilage is a very specialized tissue in which a small number of cells, chondrocytes, are distributed in a quite particular organization. The extracellular matrix (ECM) is composed mainly of collagen type II fibers and proteoglycan aggregates, which are mainly formed by the association of aggrecan with a large number of glycosaminoglycan chains. The combination of the collagen fiber stiffness and the high water sorption capacity of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) produces a hard tissue that is able to sustain the high compression loading to which articular cartilage is subjected [1-3] and is very permeable to water-soluble substances allowing the diffusion of nutrients and waste products of cell metabolism, which is crucial in the avascular tissue. Healthy articular cartilage contains between 70% and 75% of water, the GAGs content can be up to 20% depending on the joints and cartilage sites [4,5], and collagen type II can represent between 11% and 20% of the wet weight [6].Furthermore, ECM composition, and consequently its mechanical properties, cell shape, and cell distribution are not homogeneous. Different tissue layers, going from articular surface to subchondral bone, with quite different characteristics can be distinguished [7][8][9][10][11]. The articular surface layer contains flat chondrocytes dispersed in a network of collagen type II fibers preferentially aligned parallel to the surface, which gives the tissue a special ability to sustain the shear stress to which the articular surface is subjected. The transition zone contains dispersed rounded chondrocytes in a disordered network of collagen fibers. The deep zone contains large rounded chondrocytes ordered in columns perpendicular to articular surface and collagen fibers aligned in the same direction. Finally, the calcified cartilage is the interface with subchondral bone. It is characterized by hypertrophic chondrocytes, a high content of collagen type X in the ECM and by tissue mineralization. The level of GAGs is lower in the surface layer, increases in the transition zone, and is the highest in the deep zone. The elastic modulus of hyaline cartilage continuously increases with depth from the articular surface. Schinagl et al. [10] measured values Biomimetic Approaches for Biomaterials Development, First Edition. Edited by João F. Mano.

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Quantitative structural organization of normal adult human articular cartilage

Cited by 435 publications

References 33 publications

Distinct horizontal patterns in the spatial organization of superficial zone chondrocytes of human joints

Distinct horizontal patterns in the spatial organization of superficial zone chondrocytes of human joints

Composition and transport properties of human ankle and knee cartilage

Bio‐Inspired 3D Environments for Cartilage Engineering

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