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Investigating the Effect of Exogenously Supplemented FGF-18 on Expanded Meniscus Fibrochondrocytes Using a Cell Aggregate Model
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- Author / Creator
- Lyons, Brayden
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Osteoarthritis (OA) is a disease affecting >10% of Canadians and is associated with a huge economic burden on the Canadian economy and healthcare system. The disease is characterized by a variety of symptoms including chronic pain, inflammation, and decreased joint mobility. Therefore, the development of effective treatments is being investigated. Within the knee joint, the state of meniscus health is a direct correlate of healthy joint physiology. Meniscal trauma is frequently corrected through surgical debridement in the form of partial meniscectomies; however this treatment predisposes the patient for OA development due to increased stress on surrounding articular cartilage.Meniscus tissue engineering aims to develop new repair or replacement strategies to maintain proper joint physiology in cases of meniscal injury. Because the menisci’s functional properties are derived from its extracellular matrix (ECM), tissue engineering focuses on creating biomimetic constructs that maintain biomechanical functionality by promoting meniscus-like ECM formation. This may be achieved by combining candidate cell types, experimental models, and growth factor supplementation. Fibroblast growth factors have demonstrated potent anabolic effects in a number of cell types, however they are relatively understudied in cells isolated from healthy, adult meniscal tissue.Here we examined the effects of supplementing fibroblast growth factor 18 on differentiated, primary MFCs and expanded MFCs to assess the capacity for FGF-18 to drive the redifferentiation of MFCs to produce meniscus-like ECM formation. Our findings suggest that FGF-18 is insufficient to restore a differentiated ECM-forming phenotype in expanded MFCs.
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- Subjects / Keywords
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- Graduation date
- Spring 2019
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- Type of Item
- Thesis
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- Degree
- Master of Science
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- License
- Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission.