Influence of oxygen tension on nitric oxide and prostaglandin E2 synthesis by bovine chondrocytes

This study demonstrates that a hypoxic environment fully blocks COX-2 activity but favours iNOS gene expression in chondrocytes culture. These findings indicate that O2 tension modulates cellular behaviour in culture and supports the concept of chondrocyte culture in low oxygen tension to reproduce in vitro the life conditions of chondrocytes.