Treatment of osteochondral defects by the use of electrical stimulation: Investigations of the cellular response

The regeneration of chondral and osteochondral lesions is restricted due to the lack of vascular supply as well as a low cell turnover within the cartilage tissue. Piezoelectric properties of collagen type I and II may cause a susceptibility regarding electrical stimulation and provide an approach for enhancing cartilage and bone healing. In the present study, the influence of electrical stimulation on the chondrogenic differentiation of human chondrocytes, mesenchymal stem cells and a co-culture of both will be analyzed. Using a special stimulation chamber, the influence of different stimulation parameters on the proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation of cells should be determined. The optimal stimulation parameters (electrical field strength, frequency) under different culture conditions (oxygen concentration, addition of growth factors) will be identified resulting in optimized proliferation and hyaline-like differentiation of chondrocytes and mesenchymal stem cells.

• Characterization of electric stimulation effects on human chondrocytes and mesenchymal stem cells derived from the bone marrow.
• Identification of optimal pre-treatment and stimulation parameters

Peer-reviewed journal papers:

• HIEMER, B., GENZ, B., JONITZ-HEINCKE, A., PASOLD, J., WREE, A., DOMMERICH, S., BADER, R., 2016. Devitalisation of human cartilage by high hydrostatic pressure treatment: Investigation of subsequent revitalisation with chondrocytes and mesenchymal stem cells. Science Report, 27 (6), pp. 33747. DOI: 10.1038/srep33747.
• HIEMER, B., ZIEBART, J., JONITZ-HEINCKE, A., GRUNERT, P.C., SU, Y., HANSMANN, D., BADER, R., 2016. Magnetically induced electrostimulation of human osteoblasts results in enhanced cell viability and osteogenic differentiation. International Journal of Molecular Medicine, 38 (1), pp. 57-64.

Peer-reviewed paper important congresses:

• HIEMER, B., GENZ, B., JONITZ-HEINCKE, J., PASOLD, J., WREE, A., DOMMERICH, S. and BADER, R., 2016. Chondrogenic Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem  Cells after Cultivation onto Devitalized Human Cartilage Tissue, 13th World Congress of the International (ICRS), Vortrag,  Sorrento, Italien.
• HIEMER, B., ACHENBACH, K., PASOLD, J., BADER, R., 2017. Influence of Transient TGF-β1 Exposure on Proliferation and Differentiation of Human Chondrocytes Embedded in an Alginate-Collagen Matrix,  63th Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society, Poster, San Diego, CA, USA.

• Prof. Dr. R. Bader
• Prof. Dr. Barbara Nebe