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Biomedical subjects

A M Freyria

Publications and source records attributed to A M Freyria.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Cartilage repair: surgical techniques and tissue engineering using polysaccharide- and collagen-based biomaterials.

Lesions of articular cartilage have a large variety of causes among which traumatic damage, osteoarthritis and osteochondritis dissecans are the most frequent. Replacement of articular defects in joints has assumed greater importance in recent years. This interest results in large part because cartilage defects cannot adequately heal themselves. Many techniques have been suggested over the last 30 years, but none allows the regeneration of the damaged cartilage, i.e. its replacement by a strictly identical tissue. In the first generation of techniques, relief of pain was the main concern, which could be provided by techniques in which cartilage was replaced by fibrocartilage. Disappointing results led investigators to focus on more appropriate bioregenerative approaches using transplantation of autologous cells into the lesion. Unfortunately, none of these approaches has provided a perfect final solution to the problem. The latest generation of techniques, currently in the developmental or preclinical stages, involve biomaterials for the repair of chondral or osteochondral lesions. Many of these scaffolds are designed to be seeded with chondrocytes or progenitor cells. Among natural and synthetic polymers, collagen- and polysaccharide-based biomaterials have been extensively used. For both these supports, studies have shown that chondrocytes maintain their phenotype when cultured in three dimensions. In both types of culture, a glycosaminoglycan-rich deposit is formed on the surface and in the inner region of the cultured cartilage, and type II collagen synthesis is also observed. Dynamic conditions can also improve the composition of such three-dimensional constructs. Many improvements are still required, however, in a number of key aspects that so far have received only scant attention. These aspects include: adhesion/integration of the graft with the adjacent native cartilage, cell-seeding with genetically-modified cell populations, biomaterials that can be implanted without open joint surgery and combined therapies, aimed at disease modification, pain relief and reduction of inflammation.

Biocompatible Materials↗

Native and DPPA cross-linked collagen sponges seeded with fetal bovine epiphyseal chondrocytes used for cartilage tissue engineering.

Collagen-based biomaterials in the form of sponges (bovine type I collagen, both native and cross-linked by treatment with diphenylphosphorylazide, noted control and DPPA sponges respectively) were tested as three-dimensional scaffolds to support chondrocyte proliferation with maintenance of the phenotype in order to form neocartilage. Control and DPPA sponges were initially seeded with 10(6) or 10(7) foetal bovine epiphyseal chondrocytes and maintained for 4 weeks in culture under static conditions in RPMI/NCTC medium with 10% FCS and without addition of fresh ascorbic acid. Both supports were always present during the study and a partial decrease in size and weight was detected only with control sponges, both seeded and unseeded. Cell proliferation was only noted in the 10(6) cells-seeded sponges (4-fold increase after 4 weeks of culture). Specific cartilage collagens (types II and XI) were deposited in the matrix throughout the culture and traces of type I collagen were noticed only in the culture medium after 2-3 weeks and 4 weeks in the case of 10(6) and 10(7) cells-seeded sponges, respectively. Glycosaminoglycans accumulated in the matrix, up to 1.8 and 9.8% of total dry weight after one month with both seeding conditions, which was much lower than in the natural tissue. In the 10(7) cells-seeded sponges, mineral deposition, observed with unseeded sponges, was significantly decreased (2- to 3-fold). These in vitro results indicate that both collagen matrices can support the development of tissue engineered cartilage.

Amino Acids↗

Lineage-dependent collagen expression and assembly during osteogenic or chondrogenic differentiation of a mesoblastic cell line.

The mesoblastic clone, C1, behaves as a tripotential progenitor able to self-renew and to differentiate toward osteogenesis, chondrogenesis, or adipogenesis in response to specific inducers. In this study, expression and deposition by the C1 cells of essential components of the extracellular matrix, collagens type I, II, III, V, XI, VI, IX, and X were followed along the osteogenic and chondrogenic pathways, through biochemical, immunochemical, and electron microscopy analyses. Implementation of each program involves profiles of collagen synthesis and matrix assembly close to those documented in vivo. Depending on the applied inducers, cells adopt a defined identity and, controls acting at transcriptional and posttranslational levels adapt the set of deposited collagens to one particular cell fate. Osteogenic C1 cells selectively build a type I collagen matrix also containing type III, V, and XI collagens but selectively exclude type II collagen. Chondrogenic C1 cells first elaborate a type II collagen network and then acquire hypertrophic chondrocyte properties while assembling a type X collagen matrix as in the growth plate. This study provides an example of how a mesoblastic cell line can develop, in vitro, each of its genetic programs up to terminal differentiation. Intrinsic factors and time-dependent cell-matrix interactions might, as in vivo, underline the implementation of an entire differentiation program.

Cell Differentiation↗

Regulation of growth, protein synthesis, and maturation of fetal bovine epiphyseal chondrocytes grown in high-density culture in the presence of ascorbic acid, retinoic acid, and dihydrocytochalasin B.

Phenotypic expression of chondrocytes can be modulated in vitro by changing the culture technique and by agents such vitamins and growth factors. We studied the effects of ascorbic acid, retinoic acid (0.5 and 10 microM), and dihydrocytochalasin B (3, 10, 20 microM DHCB), separately or in combination (ascorbic acid + retinoic acid or ascorbic acid + DHCB), on the induction of maturation of fetal bovine epiphyseal chondrocytes grown for up to 4 weeks at high density in medium containing 10% fetal calf serum and the various agents. In the absence of any agent or with retinoic acid or DHCB alone, the metabolic activity of the cells remained very low after day 6, with no induction of type I or X collagen synthesis nor increase in alkaline phosphatase activity. Chondrocytes treated with fresh ascorbic acid showed active protein synthesis associated with expression of types I and X after 6 and 13 days, respectively. This maturation was not accompanied by obvious hypertrophy of the cells or high alkaline phosphatase activity. Addition of retinoic acid to the ascorbic acid-treated cultures decreased the level of type II collagen synthesis and delayed the induction of types I and X collagen, which were present only after 30 days. A striking increase in alkaline phosphatase activity (15-20-fold) was observed in the presence of both ascorbic acid and the highest dose of retinoic acid (10 microM). DHCB was also a potent inhibitor of the maturation induced by treatment with ascorbic acid, as the chondrocytes maintained their rounded shape and synthesized type II collagen without induction of type I or X collagen. The pattern of protein secretion was compared under all culture conditions by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. The different regulations of chondrocyte differentiation by ascorbic acid, retinoic acid, and DHCB were confirmed by the important qualitative and quantitative changes in the pattern of secreted proteins observed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis along the study.

Animals↗

Analysis of types I, II, III, IX and XI collagens synthesized by fetal bovine chondrocytes in high-density culture.

OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken in order to determine phenotypic modulation of the chondrocytes more closely in high-density culture conditions and to clarify the role of ascorbate. Levels of five collagen types were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively, and their distribution was observed in the cell layer and the culture medium. DESIGN: Types I, II, III, IX and XI collagens, synthesized by fetal bovine chondrocytes in high-density culture, were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively by direct measurement of radiolabeled collagens separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and by specific radioimmunoassays. RESULTS: Under the experimental conditions used in this study (0.6 x 10(6) cells/cm2), chondrocytes did not proliferate in the absence of ascorbate, whereas a twofold increase in cell number was observed in the presence of ascorbate at day 14. Cartilage-specific collagens (types II, IX and XI) were synthesized throughout the culture period (up to 47 days), as was type III collagen, which appeared as early as day 1 and was essentially present in the culture medium. Partial dedifferentiation of chondrocytes was demonstrated by the synthesis of type I collagen, which was detected by day 2 in culture medium containing ascorbate, and by day 6 without ascorbate. After 33 days of culture, a threefold increase in type I collagen synthesis was observed in culture medium with ascorbate, reaching 66% of the type II collagen content of the cell layer. One month of culture marked the onset of a progressive decrease in the synthesis of all collagen types. CONCLUSIONS: Under these high-density culture conditions, fetal bovine chondrocytes undergo a time and ascorbate-dependent program of partial dedifferentiation. This system provides a simple model for studying the initial mechanisms of chondrocytes dedifferentiation.

Animals↗

Effect of retinoic acid on protein synthesis by foetal bovine chondrocytes in high-density culture: down-regulation of the glucose-regulated protein, GRP-78, and type II collagen.

The effect of 0.1-10 microM retinoic acid (RA) on foetal bovine chondrocytes was investigated in high-density cultures (0.6 x 10(6) cells/cm2). After 5 days of culture in ascorbate-free medium, control chondrocytes presented a typical rounded shape and synthesized type II, IX, XI and III collagens. After RA treatment on days 2-5 of culture, the cells exhibited a fibroblast-like shape and decreased synthesis of total protein (48%) and pepsinresistant proteins (60%) as determined by [35S]methionine labelling. Addition of RA was not followed by the expression of type I collagen, but induced quantitative changes in the synthesis of cartilage-specific collagens (II, IX and XI) as measured by direct autoradiography of the corresponding bands after SDS/PAGE. The main change was in type II collagen synthesis, with a 80% decrease in the cell-layer fraction and a 89% decrease in culture-medium fraction; inhibition of type IX and XI collagen synthesis was limited to 25 and 31% respectively. Modifications to intracellular proteins induced by RA were determined by using two-dimensional electrophoresis associated with a computerized imaging system. Synthesis of one of the more abundant proteins (pI 4.8; 78 kDa) was decreased by 75% after RA treatment. This protein was characterized by micro-sequencing as the glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP 78). It was reported previously to bind denatured collagen and mutated type I procollagen molecule and to function as a molecular chaperone for collagen molecules. It remains to demonstrate whether the parallel down-regulation of GRP 78 and type II collagen observed here corresponds to a co-ordinate regulation of these two proteins.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Two-dimensional electrophoresis of intracellular and secreted protein synthesized by fetal bovine chondrocytes in high-density culture.

In order to study the mechanisms involved in the differentiation/dedifferentiation of chondrocytes, fetal bovine chondrocytes in high-density cultures were treated with retinoic acid, an agent known to modify the chondrocyte phenotype (10 mumol/L between day 2 to day 5 of culture). The synthesis of intracellular and secreted proteins was studied by two-dimensional electrophoresis in cell lysates and culture media after labeling with [35S]methionine for the last 14 h of culture. The proteins expressed in control and retinoic acid-treated cells were identified by microsequencing after "in-gel" tryptic digestion of the spot or by immunodetection with specific antibodies after two-dimensional gel blotting. Intracellular protein modifications included one of 56.9 kDa and with an isoelectric point (pI) of 5.8 whose synthesis was previously reported to be up-regulated by 75%. Microsequencing of two internal peptides did not reveal a known protein. Changes to the chondrocyte phenotype were also recorded in the culture medium, as a decrease in type II collagen synthesis and expression of the small proteoglycan, decorin. Several new spots were also observed after treatment with retinoic acid, including a large, diffuse spot, not yet characterized, with a mean molecular mass of 39 kDa and a pI of 4.5-5.0. Under our experimental conditions, retinoic acid induces morphological changes of the chondrocytes and dramatic changes in the synthesis of several intracellular and secreted proteins that predate the synthesis of collagen type I (the classical marker of chondrocyte dedifferentiation).

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Dacron vascular biomaterial triggers macrophage ectoenzyme activity without change in cell membrane fluidity.

Biomaterials induce an inflammatory reaction characterized by a rapid recruitment at the implantation site of polymorphonuclear cells and macrophages. In the course of the inflammatory response, the cellular activation triggers expression of a number of enzymes, such as 5'-nucleotidase, which is widely distributed in animal cell membranes as an ectoenzyme. It is now well established that 5'-nucleotidase activity decreases following the contact of inflammatory cells with foreign particles. In this paper we investigate a possible correlation between the enzymatic activities and the dynamic properties of the cell membrane bilayer. Dacron pieces were introduced into rats' peritoneal cavities for a period of 6 h, after which the peritoneal cells were harvested, and various enzyme assays performed, including those for cytoplasmic, lysosomal, and ectoenzymes. In parallel, we studied cell membrane fluidity, using fluorescence polarization of 1-(4-trimethylammoniumphenyl)-6-phenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (TMA-DPH), and cellular ultrastructural alteration resulting from the cell-biomaterial interactions using scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Our results show that: 1) macrophages spread around the Dacron fibers with cytoplasmic finger-like projections, but no phagolysosomes, 2) 5'-nucleotidase levels decrease with surgical trauma in comparison with the resident cell exudate, 3) implantation of biomaterials slightly modify the 5'-nucleotidase levels observed in the sham animal, 4) no differences in the anisotropy values indicating that membrane lipid order within the cells could not account for the observed decrease of 5'-nucleotidase activity. Thus, we can suggest that 5'-nucleotidase expression may reflect a particular feature of cell activation without a phagocytic process.

5'-Nucleotidase↗

Peritoneal macrophage response: an in vivo model for the study of synthetic materials.

This study was designed to validate an in vivo model in rat to study cell-implant interactions. Pieces of Dacron and Goretex and polydimethylsiloxane (reference material) precoated or not were implanted in the peritoneal cavity. In some cases the peritoneal cells were stimulated before the implantation. Macrophage phagocytosis and fibrinocoagulolytic activities were investigated in parallel with morphological studies 6 h after implantation. A graded cell response related to the different situations was observed, providing a measure of the material's behaviour. Using this model, other investigations of macrophage/polymer can be conducted, especially to explain implant encapsulation.

5'-Nucleotidase↗

Rat peritoneal macrophage procoagulant and fibrinolytic activities. An expression of the local inflammatory response.

1. Lysates of rat (Rattus norvegicus, Wistar strain) peritoneal macrophages selected by adherence were analysed for procoagulant activity (PCA) and plasminogen activator activity (PAA). 2. PCA is expressed following in vitro stimulation by lipopolysaccharide and in vivo (respectively 118 +/- 19.1 and 147.2 +/- 45.2 mUnits/10(6) M phi) very early after the intraperitoneal injection of thioglycollate. 3. PAA present in 24 hr thioglycollate stimulated cells (79.5 +/- 26.1 mI.U./10(6) M phi), disappears in a time dependent fashion after in vitro lipopolysaccharide stimulation. 4. Our findings indicate that rat peritoneal macrophages regulate their coagulolytic activities in a specific manner. 5. Rat peritoneal cavity may be proposed as a model for the study of inflammatory reaction with PCA and PAA as its indexes.

Animals↗

Evaluation of macrophage procoagulant and fibrinolytic activities induced by peritoneal dialysis solutions.

To investigate the coagulant and fibrinolytic potential of peritoneal macrophages, after short-term exposure to dialysis solutions intraperitoneal (IP) injection of these hyperosmolar glucose solutions was performed in rats. During the 72-hour postinjection period, the dialysis solutions and, as controls, Ringer's lactate and Ringer's lactate-glucose all induced a similar increase in the number of polymorphonuclear cells and macrophages within a maximum of 24 or 48 hours after their IP injection. These findings demonstrate that IP injection of any dialysis solution results in a moderate non-specific inflammatory cell harvesting. Compared with activity induced by the control solutions, no significant increase of procoagulant and fibrinolytic activities, identified respectively by the presence of thromboplastin and plasminogen activator, was observed in peritoneal macrophages obtained 48 hours after injection of the solution with the highest glucose concentration. However, the level of procoagulant activity could increase as a result of different manufacturers' processing of the solutions. That the basal level of macrophage functions may be modified suggests that this cell may initiate coagulolytic conditions in the peritoneal cavity, especially in the course of IP injection of dialysis solutions.

Animals↗

Primers of contact system activity in asthmatic patients and contrast material reactors.

An accelerated prekallikrein transformation is present at 4 degrees C in plasmas obtained from asthmatic patients (asthma plasmas) and in prereaction plasmas from contrast material (CM) reactors. Preliminary data show that (1) higher levels of alpha 2-macroglobulin bound kallikrein (alpha 2M-KK) may be found in asthma plasmas and pre-contrast medium reactor plasmas in comparison with control plasmas. In the asthma plasmas, these differences approach, but do not quite attain, significance; (2) complexes of alpha 2M-KK potentiate prekallikrein activation in buffer (BA) and dextran sulfate activation (DSA) assays; and (3) polybrene (factor XII inhibitor) induces an early blockage in the production of kallikrein activity in BA and DSA, indicating the presence in these plasmas of cryptic surfaces with a function analogous to dextran sulfate. These results indicate that, in asthma and probably in CM reactors plasmas, cryptic surfaces and alpha 2M-KK may each contribute to contact system activity induced at 4 degrees C.

Asthma↗

Complement C3 and C5 degradation products during hemodialysis treatment: study of an index of membrane bioincompatibility.

In 10 hemodialyses (HD) with cuprophan (CU) and 10 with polyacrylonitrile (PAN), signs of complement activation were investigated by following arterial and venous levels of C3a, C3d and C5a, in order to propose a marker of bioincompatibility. Despite large individual variabilities, significant increases of these molecules were detected at t 20 min, particularly with CU device in the artery and more marked in the vein except for C3d with PAN. During the later stage of HD, while C3a and C5a levels gradually declined, but remained significantly higher than t 0 in all the patients treated with CU, the C3d concentration reached a plateau suggesting a continuous complement activation throughout HD. HD using PAN membranes were associated with a lower C3a, C3d and C5a generation and fewer dialyses generating these products. In some dialyses the higher arterial level of these molecules suggests an extra-dialyzer complement activation especially with PAN membrane. Although C5a venous levels appeared to be the more significant index of complement activation, for clinical purposes we propose the C3d arterial measurement as a reliable, non-expensive and technically simple indicator of membrane intolerance.

Acrylic Resins↗

Alpha 2-macroglobulin-kallikrein potentiates contact system activity: possible effect in asthma.

Bradykinin release, an end product of contact system activation, is thought to play a significant role in the pathophysiology of asthma. We have found an increased level of native alpha 2-macroglobulin-kallikrein (alpha 2M-KK) in asthma plasmas, and have demonstrated increased levels of contact system activity in these plasmas under certain laboratory conditions. We investigated the possible role of alpha 2M-KK as a modulator of the contact system activity. Alpha 2M-KK potentiated the factor XII activation on kaolin and the kallikrein production in a dextran-sulfate-mediated assay. This potentiation presumably involves a proteolytic effect of alpha 2M-KK on high molecular weight kininogen.

Asthma↗

Diminished osmotic and chemically induced haemolysis of human erythrocytes following exposure to contrast media molecules.

Radiocontrast molecules (RCM) used in coronaroangiography and/or urography diminished their osmotic fragility when they were incubated for 30 min with human erythrocytes. The shift of the osmotic fragility curve towards lower NaCl concentration is related to the hypertonicity of RCM, but in addition, at a given osmolality (100 +/- 5 mosm/kg), RCM at the concentration of 4-10% v/v increase the resistance to osmotic lysis or even suppress it. Similar protection is observed towards erythrocyte lysis induced by a detergent (saponin), polyenic antibiotic (filipin) or non-polyenic cholesterol-specific agent (digitonin). The effect is (1) proportional to the amount of RCM present, (2) independent of hypertonicity of the molecule, and (3) related to the nature of acidic molecules. A weak insertion of RCM into the erythrocyte membrane is suggested since it was suppressed by a single washing of the cells.

Contrast Media↗

Absence of complement activation in vitro by sodium meglumine ioxitalamate.

The effect of radiographic contrast media on proteins of the complement system in vitro was investigated using protein level measurement and crossed immunoelectrophoresis. Despite the 20% loss of total serum hemolytic activity (CH50) induced by sodium meglumine ioxitalamate (0.5 M), no significant changes in C3c, C3N or B were detected by radial immunodiffusion. These contrast media did not cause electrophoretic conversion of C3, as assessed by the absence of split product, and the small degree of spontaneous C3 conversion (loss of 20% C3N antigen and the presence of two peaks with C3c antigen) which occurred when serum was incubated in polypropylene tubes, was inhibited by the contrast media. The effects of sodium meglumine ioxitalamate and zymosan in vitro on complement activation were compared.

Blood Proteins↗