Articular cartilage is a connective tissue with a very limited self-repair capacity and -once degraded- it is extremely susceptible to structural damage, making it difficult to restore. Osteoarthritis is the most common form of chronic arthritis, may involve different joints and is characterised by a progressive cartilage degradation which is difficult to reverse. Its clinical management is initially based on conservative therapies, the efficacy of which is a matter of debate. Novel strategies with promising results -as Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT), Hyaluronic Acid (HA) and Platelets-Rich Plasma (PRP)- were proposed for such musculoskeletal disorders. Nevertheless, the scientific rationale for those treatments remains partially uncertain. A possible involvement of several microenvironmental mediators -such as growth factors and cytokines- able to affect the cartilage-specific cells, called chondrocytes, has been suggested. Considering our previous experience in establishing an in vitro model of human tendon derived cells, we propose here to set up primary cultures of human chondrocytes derived from cartilage explants. The biological properties of the cells -subjected to ESWT, HA and/or PRP stimulations- will be then evaluated at a phenotypical and molecular level, in order to investigate the possible mechanisms responsible for the clinical benefits encountered after those treatments. Our preliminary data seem to suggest that the association of HA and PRP treatments induces a significant increase in the proliferation index of primary cultured human chondrocytes derived from femoral head articular cartilage. The analysis of different mediators produced in the supernatants of culture will be crucial to provide an efficient strategy for maintaining chondrocyte integrity and eventually regenerating the degraded cartilage.
