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Mark R. Homicz, MD; Kevin B. McGowan, BSE; Lisa M. Lottman, BS; Gordon Beh, BS; Robert L. Sah, MD, ScD; Deborah Watson, MD

Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2003;5:53-58.

Background  Nasal septal cartilage is well established as an autograft material. Tissue engineering methods are now being developed to synthesize cartilage constructs with the properties of this type of cartilage. However, important baseline data on the composition of native septal cartilage is sparse.

Objectives  To characterize quantitatively the major biochemical constituents of native adult human septal cartilage and determine age- or sex-related variation in composition.

Methods  Cartilage was harvested from the inferior region of the nasal septum in 33 patients (mean ± SD age, 47.0 ± 13.5 years; range, 24-80 years) during routine septoplasty or septorhinoplasty. Biochemical assays were used to determine the quantities, relative to wet weight, of the major constituents of cartilage: water, collagen (from hydroxyproline), sulfated glycosaminoglycan (sGAG), and chondrocytes (from DNA).

Results  On average, each gram of wet cartilage contained 77.7% water, 7.7% collagen, 2.9% sGAG, and 24.9 million cells. Hydration and collagen content showed no significant age variation. Advancing age was associated with a reduction in sGAG content (7.7% per decade, P = .02) and cellularity (7.4% per decade, P = .05). No significant sex differences were found in any of these cartilage constituents.

Conclusions  This study represents the first biochemical characterization of the composition of native human septal cartilage. The data serve as a baseline for future comparison of the properties of tissue-engineered neocartilage constructs. Furthermore, the age-associated variations in cartilage composition have implications for patient selection for reconstructive procedures.

From the Division of Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, San Diego, and San Diego Veterans Affairs Healthcare System (Drs Homicz and Watson), and the Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego (Messrs McGowan and Beh, Ms Lottman, and Dr Sah).

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