Discover Top Posts Tagged with #chondrocytes

Restoring Cartilage

Upset in a molecular pathway called Wnt signalling in cartilage cells called chondrocytes underlies the breakdown of cartilage in the painful joint disease osteoarthritis. Here, researchers have identified how the molecular signals are normally balanced and have developed StemJEL an injectable hydrogel therapy which restores the balance and cartilage and joint function

Read the published research paper here

Image from work by Angela Ruscitto and colleagues

Cartilage Biology and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory, Section of Growth and Development, Division of Orthodontics, College of Dental Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in Cell Stem Cell, September 2023

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#science #biomedicine #biology #cartilage #chondrocytes #histology #osteoarthritis #wnt signalling #sciart

Hyaline cartilage

#hyaline cartilage #anatomy #histology #lacuna #chondrocytes #matrix #perichondrium #chondroblasts #connective tissue

All Knees

It’s tough, it’s rubbery, it’s your cartilage. Your joints contain two types: articular cartilage, which covers the ends of your bones, and growth-plate cartilage, which forms the ends of long bones. Both comprise cells called chondrocytes. How these types of cartilage develop isn’t clear. Researchers now investigate in mice genetically engineered with fluorescently-tagged NFATc1 – a protein which when inactivated interferes with cartilage development. Using fluorescent microscopy of developing mouse knee joints, they found NFATc1-containing cells (progenitors) matured into articular chondrocytes but not growth-plate chondrocytes. NFATc1-containing progenitors also matured into cells that contribute to the joint lining, ligaments and developing kneecap (pictured, green). Analysing the RNA of articular chondrocytes revealed that NFATc1 levels dropped as the cells matured. Reducing NFATc1 levels in progenitors triggered articular cartilage formation while increasing levels blocked this from happening. NFATc1 is therefore vital for articular — but not growth-plate — cartilage development.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

Image from work by Fan Zhang and Yuanyuan Wang, and colleagues

Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, China; National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, China

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in eLife, February 2023

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#science #biomedicine #immunofluorescence #cartilage #rna-seq #knees #bones #chondrocytes

Muscle Support

Whenever you fracture a bone, progenitor cells in your damaged bone jump into action, forming a callus – a mass of fibroblasts and cartilage-producing cells called chondrocytes. New cartilage and bone is then laid down. Researchers now reveal that progenitor cells in the surrounding skeletal muscle are also involved. Mice were genetically modified to track these progenitor cells using fluorescence microscopy, focusing on the muscle surrounding the tibia bone (pictured) before fracture of the bone (left, blue), and then 3 days (middle) and 3 weeks after fracture (right). Combined with RNA analysis, the team found some progenitors matured into fibroblasts and later others matured into chondrocytes, forming a callous (right, blue). However, in mice where the bone and muscle were injured, these progenitors interfered with bone healing by producing excess fibrous tissue – administering the drug imatinib prevented this. Skeletal muscle therefore has a vital role in the effectiveness of bone healing.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

Image from work by Anais Julien and colleagues

Univ Paris Est Creteil, INSERM, IMRB, Creteil, France

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in Nature Communications, May 2021

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#science #biomedicine #muscle #bone #fibroblasts #imatinib #skeletal muscles #immunofluorescence #fluorescence microscopy #chondrocytes #bone fracture #tissue healing #wound healing

SciTech Chronicles. . . . . . . . .March 18th, 2026

Vol V Issue 64 Who Said this? The greatest obstacle to our understanding of the US Constitution is our familiarity with it. Today, 426 links

Human Cell Tournament Round 2

Which cell or cell component is better?

Chondrocytes

Tryptophan

Voting ended onNov 30, 2024

Propaganda!

Chondrocytes are the only cells found in healthy cartilage. They produce and maintain the cartilaginous matrix, which consists mainly of collagen and proteoglycans.

Tryptophan (symbol Trp or W) is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. Tryptophan contains an α-amino group, an α-carboxylic acid group, and a side chain indole, making it a polar molecule with a non-polar aromatic beta carbon substituent. Tryptophan is also a precursor to the neurotransmitter serotonin, the hormone melatonin, and vitamin B3 (niacin).