Figure 5.

Gene expression profiles and relative gene expression of sheep and human auricular chondrocytes expanded with and without bFGF. (A) In sheep chondrocytes, detectable levels of COL2A1 were present only in P0 cells. COL1A1 and COL3A1 also had detectable levels. COL1A1 and COL3A1 expression increased in chondrocytes expanded in standard conditions and COL2A1 was downregulated past the threshold of detection. bFGF supplementation during expansion resulted in decreased COL1A1 and COL3A1 expression, but COL2A1 expression was not rescued. (B) In human P0 chondrocytes, only COL2A1 but not COL1A1 and COL3A1 were detected. Similar gene expression profiles were demonstrated in response to proliferation and bFGF supplementation.