title: Repair of articular cartilage defects in the knee with autologous iliac crest cartilage in a rabbit model.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To demonstrate that iliac crest cartilage may be used to repair articular cartilage defects in the knees of rabbits.
  
  
  METHODS
  Full-thickness cartilage defects were created in the medial femoral condyle on both knees of 36 New Zealand white rabbits. The 72 defects were randomly assigned to be repaired with ipsilateral iliac crest cartilage (Group I), osteochondral tissues removed at defect creation (Group II), or no treatment (negative control, Group III). Animals were killed at 6, 12, and 24 weeks post-operatively. The repaired tissues were harvested for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), histological studies (haematoxylin and eosin and immunohistochemical staining), and mechanical testing.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At 6 weeks, the iliac crest cartilage graft was not yet well integrated with the surrounding articular cartilage, but at 12 weeks, the graft deep zone had partial ossification. By 24 weeks, the hyaline cartilage-like tissue was completely integrated with the surrounding articular cartilage. Osteochondral autografts showed more rapid healing than Group I at 6 weeks and complete healing at 12 weeks. Untreated defects were concave or partly filled with fibrous tissue throughout the study. MRI showed that Group I had slower integration with surrounding normal cartilage compared with Group II. The mechanical properties of Group I were significantly lower than those of Group II at 12 weeks, but this difference was not significant at 24 weeks.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Iliac crest cartilage autografts were able to repair knee cartilage defects with hyaline cartilage and showed comparable results with osteochondral autografts in the rabbit model.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sports Medicine, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lizhong
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jing
authors.forename: Jiying
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Huijie
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Leng
authors.forename: Qinwei
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Yuelin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000293:injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D007085:Ilium / Q000637:transplantation*; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000601:surgery*; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011817:Rabbits; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D014945:Wound Healing