Effects of the Degradation Rate of Collagen Matrices on Articular Chondrocyte Proliferation and Biosynthesis in Vitro

The objective of this study was to evaluate effects of the degradation rate of type II collagen scaffolds on the proliferation and biosynthetic activity of adult canine chondrocytes in vitro. The lower number of cells in more rapidly degrading scaffolds appeared to be related to the loss of scaffold material with dissolution. After 14 days in culture, protein and proteoglycan synthesis rates per cell for rapidly degrading scaffolds were comparable to rates for nondegraded matrices. This result suggests that decoupling of the degradation and formation phases of tissue remodeling may occur under certain circumstances.