Evaluation of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament, Medial Collateral Ligament, Achilles Tendon and Patellar Tendon as Cell Sources for Tissue-Engineered Ligament

Published

December 1, 2005

Author(s)

James A. Cooper, L A. Bailey, Janell N. Carter, Cynthia Castiglioni, Michelle D. Kofron, Frank K. Ko, Cato T. Laurencin

Abstract

This study investigated four different connective tissue cell types to determine which cell type is an optimal source for seeding a tissue-engineered Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) replacement. Cells from the ACL, Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL), Achilles tendon (AT), and Patellar tendon (PT) of a New Zealand White rabbit were isolated and cultured. Each cell type was cultured under static conditions after seeding on three-dimensional (3-D) braided polymer scaffolds and on tissue culture plates. Samples were evaluated and compared for their morphology, proliferation rates, and gene expression of fibronectin, collagen Types I and III. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) photomicrographs verified cell attachment of all four types of connective tissue cells to the scaffolds and tissue culture plates respectively. Preliminary results comparing proliferation rates indicate that cells obtained from the patellar tendon have the fastest proliferation rates while those from the ACL are slow.Whereas gene expression of the phenotypic markers measured using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) indicates ACL cells have the highest gene expression for the matrix markers. This leads to the question of which cell type would be the optimal cell source for tissue-engineering of ligament, the highly proliferating cells or the differentiated matrix producing cells. This study would suggest that ACL differentiated matrix producing cells are the most suitable cells for further study and development of a tissue-engineered ligament.

Citation

Biomaterials

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

biomaterials, ligament, polymerase chain reaction (RT-RCR), real-time reverse transcription, scaffold, tendon, tissue engineering

Citation

Cooper, J. , Bailey, L. , Carter, J. , Castiglioni, C. , Kofron, M. , Ko, F. and Laurencin, C. (2005), Evaluation of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament, Medial Collateral Ligament, Achilles Tendon and Patellar Tendon as Cell Sources for Tissue-Engineered Ligament, Biomaterials (Accessed April 25, 2024)