Articular cartilage repair. Rabbit experiments with a collagen gel-biomatrix and chondrocytes cultured in it.
To repair a full-thickness articular cartilage defect in rabbit knees, we developed a technique of using a collagen gel hardened by cultured allogeneic chondrocytes in it. The gel-chondrocyte composite accumulated an intense metachromatic matrix, and had elasticity and stiffness enough to be shaped easily after 2 weeks' culture in vitro. It was implanted into full-thickness articular cartilage defects. Histologic evaluation was performed up to 6 months after surgery, using a histologic grading scale composed of 5 categories. In the gel-chondrocyte composite implanted group, good repair was observed from as early as 1 day up to 6 months. On the other hand, in the empty control group, no repair was observed 1 day to 2 weeks after the defects were made. At 4 weeks, some repair occurred, but even at 6 months the repair was not good.
Kawamura
S
S
Department of Orthopedics, Osaka University Medical School, Japan.
Wakitani
S
S
Kimura
T
T
Maeda
A
A
Caplan
A I
AI
Shino
K
K
Ochi
T
T
D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000166:cytology / Q000293:injuries / Q000502:physiology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000637:transplantation; D003094:Collagen; D003470:Culture Media; D005782:Gels; D008297:Male; D011817:Rabbits; D013997:Time Factors; D014945:Wound Healing
D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D003470:Culture Media; D005782:Gels; D003094:Collagen