Age dependence of biochemical and biomechanical properties of tissue-engineered human septal cartilage

The aim of this study was to determine whether the biomechanical and biochemical properties of tissue-engineered human septal cartilage vary with donor age and in vitro culture time. Chondrocytes were isolated from human septal cartilage of patients from 15 to 60 year old and maintained in primary monolayer culture for 14 days. Cells were seeded onto 0.5% PLA coated PGA disks and kept in stationary three-dimensional culture for either 1 day or 3 weeks. Specimens were then implanted subcutaneously into athymic nude mice and harvested after either 4 or 8 weeks. Upon harvest, the equilibrium confined compression modulus was measured as to quantify mechanical properties, and the glycosaminoglycan, hydroxyproline, and DNA contents were determined as measures of tissue proteoglycans, collagen, and cell density. This study demonstrated that native nasal cartilage showed distinct changes in these parameters with age, but cartilage engineered using the cells of these specimens showed no significant dependence on the age of the donor. There was little difference in quality of cartilage between samples cultured for 3 weeks in vitro and those implanted directly after seeding. Together, the results of this study suggest that the process of extracellular matrix assembly by chondrocytes on three-dimensional scaffolds may be independent of in vivo conditions experienced by the tissue prior to harvest.