15502-m-pleumeekers

Figure 5. Biomechanical evaluation of constructs with different cell types Biomechanical properties enhanced after in vivo implantation. ECs and NCs tended to exhibit superior mechanical properties in vivo compared to the other cell sources. Since tissue calcification misrepresents the biomechanical properties of the cartilage matrix; we excluded calcified cartilage constructs for further analyses (grey bar represents the mechanical properties of both calcified and non-calcified constructs). Biomechanical data are shown as mean ± SD. EC = Ear Chondrocytes ( n=3 donors) ; NC = Nasal Chondrocytes ( n=3 donors) ; AC = Articular Chondrocytes ( n=3 donors) ; BMSC = Bone-marrow-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells ( n=3 donors) ; AMSC = Adipose-tissue-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells ( n=3 donors). Per donor, 2 samples were used for analyses. 77 CARTILAGE-FORMING CAPACITY OF SEVERAL CELL SOURCES 4