Macrophage-fibroblast interactions in collagenase production and cartilage degradation

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Abstract
Rabbit bone marrow macrophages and fibroblasts were cultured independently or together with pieces of 35S-labeled cartilage or at the surface of dried [14C]collagen gels. Each type of cell cultivated alone rapidly degraded the proteoglycan of cartilage, but only the fibroblasts degraded collagen. The co-culture of both types of cell had no consistent effect on the rate of proteoglycan degradation, but it stimulated the rate of collagen degradation. In parallel, the accumulation of collagenase in the culture fluid was enhanced but not that of neutral proteinase. Conditioned media from macrophage cultures added to cultures of fibroblasts had the same effect as the living macrophages in stimulating the production of collagenase. Their action was enhanced when the macrophages were activated by concanavalin A-stimulated spleen-cell factors. Apparently fibroblasts may act as effector cells in producing collagenase and degrading collagen in response to soluble factors released by macrophages under the control of lymphocyte factors.

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