Synergistic and Additive Effects of Hydrostatic Pressure and Growth Factor Application on Engineered Articular Cartilage Constructs

It has previously been demonstrated that hydrostatic pressure (HP) enhances the biochemical properties of self-assembled articular cartilage constructs [1]. However, studies that systematically assess the effects of HP magnitude and frequency are lacking. Additionally, studies examining the combined effects of hydrostatic pressure and growth factors are limited. To this end, this study sought to test the hypotheses that static HP will have the greatest enhancement of construct biomechanical and biochemical properties, and that there will be additive or synergistic effects when combining growth factors and HP stimulation.