Figure 1

Evaluation of chondrocyte micropellets of donors using histological, immunohistochemical and molecular biology techniques. [A] Chondrocyte micropellets from normal and OA donors grown for 7 days in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) supplemented with 10% FBS. Micropellets were stained with Hematoxylin-Eosin (HE), Alcian Blue (AB) and Masson′s Trichromic (MT). Immunodetection of type II collagen (Col II) was performed to detect this molecule which is characteristic of hyaline cartilage. [B] Aggrecan mRNA R.E.L. of healthy and OA chondrocyte micropellets measured by Real-Time Quantitative PCR (mean ± S.E.).