Home › Cell Biology › Treatment of Ligament Constructs with Exercise-conditioned Serum: A Translational Tissue Engineering Model
Cell Biology JoVE (Open Access) Citable · DOI

Treatment of Ligament Constructs with Exercise-conditioned Serum: A Translational Tissue Engineering Model

DOI: 10.3791/55339-v
What you'll learn
  • ✓ Fabricate three-dimensional engineered ligament constructs using brushite anchors
  • ✓ Apply exercise-conditioned human serum to tissue constructs in vitro
  • ✓ Assess ligament mechanical properties and collagen content via tensile testing
Protocol

We present a model of ligament tissue in which three-dimensional constructs are treated with the human exercise-conditioned serum and analyzed for collagen content, function, and cellular biochemistry.

Difficulty
advanced
Total time
~5–7 days (construct fabrication 2–3 days, serum treatment 2–3 days, mechanical testing 1 day)
Biosafety
BSL-1

Steps

1
Prepare brushite anchors for construct mounting

Fabricate brushite mineral anchors that serve as mechanical attachment points for the engineered ligament constructs.

▶ 00:43
2
Form three-dimensional engineered ligaments

Assemble ligament tissue constructs using the prepared anchors and culture system, establishing the baseline tissue scaffold.

▶ 02:08
3
Obtain and prepare human exercise-conditioned serum

Collect serum from human subjects following exercise protocol and prepare it for application to ligament constructs.

▶ 04:33
4
Perform tensile testing on engineered ligaments

Apply uniaxial mechanical testing to measure stiffness, ultimate load, and other mechanical properties of treated and untreated constructs.

▶ 05:12
5
Analyze collagen content and cellular biochemistry

Quantify collagen deposition, cellular proliferation, and biochemical markers in exercise-conditioned serum-treated constructs versus controls.

▶ 06:13
💬 Comments coming soon