Construction of tissue engineering growth plate with epiphyseal plate cells and allograft articular cartilage extracellular matrix and its in vitro culture

Objective To study the construction of tissue-engineering growth plate with co-cultured epiphyseal plate cells and allograft articular cartilage extracellular matrix（CACEM）. Methods Growth plate cells were collected from New Zealand rabbits at the age of 2 weeks,in vitro amplified,and inoculated into CACEM to observe their histocompatibility and pathological change. Results The growth plate cells grew rapidly on CACEM with a high survival rate and no significant growth inhibition.Formation of tissue mass,secretion of glycosaminoglycan（GAG）,and type Ⅱ collagen could be observed when the cells were cultured in vitro.The cells were irregularly arranged with no formation of typical epiphyseal plate tissue. Conclusion Tissue engineering epiphyseal plate can be constructed with CACEM and growth plate cells in vitro,thus laying a foundation for further study.