Kuo Shyh Ming, Wang Yng Jiin, Weng Chin Lung, Lu Huai En, Chang Shwu Jen
Department of Biomedical Engineering, I-SHOU University, Kaohsiung County, Taiwan.
J Mater Sci Mater Med. 2005 Jun;16(6):525-31. doi: 10.1007/s10856-005-0528-x.
Collagen II is the majority of extracellular matrix components in articular cartilage, which with the major functions of preventing expansion of the tissue and distributing the load of body weight. To obtain man-made ECM, the reconstitution of collagen could be conducted in the presence of negatively charged polysaccharide, such as alginate. Alginate is an anionic polysaccharide capable of eversible gelated in calcium ion solution to prepare different shapes of biomaterials. Its well-known biocompatibility makes it an ideal material in biomedical applications. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of alginate on the fibrillogenesis of type II collagen. The preliminary results revealed that inclusion of alginate into soluble type II collagen solution could inhibit the development of turbidity of collagen solution, and the apparent rate constants in lag and growth phases decreased during collagen formation period, both rate constants decreased to about one-third of the original constants, respectively. From TEM observations, the collagen fibrils were significantly thicker in 0.05% and 0.1% alginate as compared with pure collagen solution. Furthermore, the D-periods of collagen fibers kept unchanged significantly under all reconstituted conditions, which meant the packing of collagen monomer was probably not affected by adding these amounts of alginate.
Ⅱ型胶原蛋白是关节软骨中细胞外基质的主要成分，其主要功能是防止组织扩张并分散体重负荷。为了获得人造细胞外基质，可以在带负电荷的多糖（如藻酸盐）存在的情况下进行胶原蛋白的重构。藻酸盐是一种阴离子多糖，能够在钙离子溶液中可逆凝胶化以制备不同形状的生物材料。其众所周知的生物相容性使其成为生物医学应用中的理想材料。因此，本研究的目的是评估藻酸盐对Ⅱ型胶原蛋白原纤维形成的影响。初步结果表明，在可溶性Ⅱ型胶原蛋白溶液中加入藻酸盐可以抑制胶原蛋白溶液浊度的发展，并且在胶原蛋白形成期间，滞后和生长阶段的表观速率常数降低，两个速率常数分别降至原始常数的约三分之一。从透射电子显微镜观察来看，与纯胶原蛋白溶液相比，在0.05%和0.1%藻酸盐中的胶原原纤维明显更粗。此外，在所有重构条件下，胶原纤维的D周期没有明显变化，这意味着添加这些量的藻酸盐可能不会影响胶原单体的堆积。
