@article{WeissenbergerWeissenbergerGilbertetal.2020, author = {Weissenberger, M. and Weissenberger, M. H. and Gilbert, F. and Groll, J. and Evans, C. H. and Steinert, A. F.}, title = {Reduced hypertrophy in vitro after chondrogenic differentiation of adult human mesenchymal stem cells following adenoviral SOX9 gene delivery}, series = {BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders}, volume = {20}, journal = {BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders}, doi = {10.1186/s12891-020-3137-4}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-229232}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Background Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) based-treatments of cartilage injury are promising but impaired by high levels of hypertrophy after chondrogenic induction with several bone morphogenetic protein superfamily members (BMPs). As an alternative, this study investigates the chondrogenic induction of MSCs via adenoviral gene-delivery of the transcription factor SOX9 alone or in combination with other inducers, and comparatively explores the levels of hypertrophy and end stage differentiation in a pellet culture system in vitro. Methods First generation adenoviral vectors encoding SOX9, TGFB1 or IGF1 were used alone or in combination to transduce human bone marrow-derived MSCs at 5 x 10\(^2\) infectious particles/cell. Thereafter cells were placed in aggregates and maintained for three weeks in chondrogenic medium. Transgene expression was determined at the protein level (ELISA/Western blot), and aggregates were analysed histologically, immunohistochemically, biochemically and by RT-PCR for chondrogenesis and hypertrophy. Results SOX9 cDNA was superior to that encoding TGFB1, the typical gold standard, as an inducer of chondrogenesis in primary MSCs as evidenced by improved lacuna formation, proteoglycan and collagen type II staining, increased levels of GAG synthesis, and expression of mRNAs associated with chondrogenesis. Moreover, SOX9 modified aggregates showed a markedly lower tendency to progress towards hypertrophy, as judged by expression of the hypertrophy markers alkaline phosphatase, and collagen type X at the mRNA and protein levels. Conclusion Adenoviral SOX9 gene transfer induces chondrogenic differentiation of human primary MSCs in pellet culture more effectively than TGFB1 gene transfer with lower levels of chondrocyte hypertrophy after 3 weeks of in vitro culture. Such technology might enable the formation of more stable hyaline cartilage repair tissues in vivo.}, language = {en} } @article{WeissenbergerWeissenbergerWagenbrenneretal.2020, author = {Weissenberger, Manuel and Weissenberger, Manuela H. and Wagenbrenner, Mike and Heinz, Tizian and Reboredo, Jenny and Holzapfel, Boris M. and Rudert, Maximilian and Groll, J{\"u}rgen and Evans, Christopher H. and Steinert, Andre F.}, title = {Different types of cartilage neotissue fabricated from collagen hydrogels and mesenchymal stromal cells via SOX9, TGFB1 or BMP2 gene transfer}, series = {PLoS One}, volume = {15}, journal = {PLoS One}, number = {8}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0237479}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-230494}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Objective As native cartilage consists of different phenotypical zones, this study aims to fabricate different types of neocartilage constructs from collagen hydrogels and human mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) genetically modified to express different chondrogenic factors. Design Human MSCs derived from bone-marrow of osteoarthritis (OA) hips were genetically modified using adenoviral vectors encoding sex-determining region Y-type high-mobility-group-box (SOX)9,transforming growth factor beta (TGFB) 1or bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) 2cDNA, placed in type I collagen hydrogels and maintained in serum-free chondrogenic media for three weeks. Control constructs contained unmodified MSCs or MSCs expressing GFP. The respective constructs were analyzed histologically, immunohistochemically, biochemically, and by qRT-PCR for chondrogenesis and hypertrophy. Results Chondrogenesis in MSCs was consistently and strongly induced in collagen I hydrogels by the transgenesSOX9,TGFB1andBMP2as evidenced by positive staining for proteoglycans, chondroitin-4-sulfate (CS4) and collagen (COL) type II, increased levels of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) synthesis, and expression of mRNAs associated with chondrogenesis. The control groups were entirely non-chondrogenic. The levels of hypertrophy, as judged by expression of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and COL X on both the protein and mRNA levels revealed different stages of hypertrophy within the chondrogenic groups (BMP2>TGFB1>SOX9). Conclusions Different types of neocartilage with varying levels of hypertrophy could be generated from human MSCs in collagen hydrogels by transfer of genes encoding the chondrogenic factorsSOX9,TGFB1andBMP2. This technology may be harnessed for regeneration of specific zones of native cartilage upon damage.}, language = {en} }