ANALYSIS OF THE IN-VITRO ENGINEERING OF H UMAN CHONDROCYTES WITH FCS-FREE CULTURE-MEDIUM - MINIMIZATION OF THE POSSIBLE RISK OF INFECTION WITH GERMS OF PRION DISEASE
R. Gruber et al., ANALYSIS OF THE IN-VITRO ENGINEERING OF H UMAN CHONDROCYTES WITH FCS-FREE CULTURE-MEDIUM - MINIMIZATION OF THE POSSIBLE RISK OF INFECTION WITH GERMS OF PRION DISEASE, Laryngo-, Rhino-, Otologie, 75(2), 1996, pp. 105-108
Background: The in vitro engineering of autologous transplant might pl
ay an important role in reconstructive surgery in the near future. The
amplification of isolated cells is an important part of the engineeri
ng. Because of the use of fetal calf serum (fcs) in the cellculture, t
here is a potential risk of transmission of prion diseases. The aim of
this study was to evaluate a way of amplifying chondrocytes with auto
logous human serum instead of fcs and to compare the rates of prolifer
ation. Methods: For this purpose the isolated chondrocytes were cultur
ed using complete medium, with 10% fcs or 10% autologous human serum b
eing added to the medium. Results: The experiments show that a culture
with complete medium and autologous human serum allows a 150 to 300fo
ld increase in the number of cells after 40 days of culture and the pr
oliferation is up to 3fold higher than in cultures using fcs. Discussi
on: Chondrocytes can be stimulated by autologous human serum to prolif
erate. It is possible to avoid fcs in the culture of chondrocytes and
to minimize the risk of an infection with prions.