Influence of the Growth Factors PDGF-BB, TGF-β1 and bFGF on the Replicative Aging of Human Articular Chondrocytes during In Vitro Expansion

Decreasing replicative potential and dedifferentiation of articular chondrocytes during expansion in cell culture are essential limitations for tissue engineering and cell therapy approaches Telomeres and telomerase play a key role in cell development, aging, and tumorigenesis There is evidence that growth factors are involved in regulating telomerase activity Therefore, the objective was to evaluate the effect of selected growth factors on telomere biology of serially passaged chondrocytes Human articular chondrocytes were isolated from cartilage of three patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty. The chondrocytes were cultured in monolayer with the growth factors PDGF-BB, TGF-beta 1, and bFGF. Telomere length was measured by telomere restriction fragment length assay, and telomerase activity was determined by quantifying the gene expression of its catalytic subunit hTERT by rtPCR Chondrocytes cultured with PDGF-BB and TGF-beta 1 showed a significantly higher proliferation rate than control cells. None of the growth factor cultures revealed an accelerated rate of telomere shortening Telomerase was not expressed insignificant amounts in any of the chondrocyte cultures. Growth factor treatment of chondrocyte cell cultures for cell therapy purposes can be regarded as sale in terms of telomere biology (C) 2009 Orthopaedic Research Society-Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc J Orthop Res 28 354-360, 2010