Regulatory effects of FGF-2 on the growth of mandibular condyles and femoral heads from newborn rats

Summary condary cartilage of the mandibular condyle is considered to be adaptive to functional factors. In the last decades, growth factors have also been shown to be potent regulators of cartilage metabolism. Moreover, it has been suggested that growth factors may differentially regulate the growth of primary and secondary cartilages. However, only a few studies have made a direct comparison of the effects of growth factors on both cartilages. Therefore, the aim here was to compare the effects of FGF-2 on secondary cartilage of the mandibular condyle and primary cartilage of the femoral head from 4-day-old rats in vitro. Cartilages were cultured for 1, 7 and 14 days with 0 and 100 ng/mL FGF-2. We evaluated the effects of FGF-2 on growth, tissue organisation, DNA and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) synthesis and GAG and collagen content. With FGF-2, the morphology of the mandibular condyles changed and the GAG and collagen contents were reduced. However, the growth of the mandibular condyles was not affected. On the contrary, the growth of the femoral heads was strongly reduced due to an inhibition of chondrocyte hypertrophy. In both cartilages, FGF-2 stimulated DNA synthesis in short-term cultures and reduced it in long-term cultures. In conclusion, FGF-2 had a larger effect on the metabolism of the mandibular condyles as compared to the femoral heads. However, the growth of the femoral heads was strongly reduced while that of the mandibular condyles was not affected.