title: Morphological MRI and T2 mapping of cartilage repair tissue after mosaicplasty with tissue-engineered cartilage in a pig model.
abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of mosaicplasty with tissue-engineered cartilage for the treatment of osteochondral defects in a pig model with advanced MR technique. Eight adolescent miniature pigs were used. The right knee underwent mosaicplasty with tissue-engineered cartilage for treatment of focal osteochondral defects, while the left knee was repaired via single mosaicplasty as controls. At 6, 12, 18 and 26 weeks after surgery, repair tissue was evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with the cartilage repair tissue (MOCART) scoring system and T2 mapping. Then, the results of MRI for 26 weeks were compared with findings of macroscopic and histologic studies. The MOCART scores showed that the repaired tissue of the tissue-engineered cartilage group was statistically better than that of controls (P < 0.001). A significant correlation was found between macroscopic and MOCART scores (P < 0.001). Comparable mean T2 values were found between adjacent cartilage and repair tissue in the experimental group (P > 0.05). For zonal T2 value evaluation, there were no significant zonal T2 differences for repair tissue in controls (P > 0.05). For the experimental group, zonal T2 variation was found in repair tissue (P < 0.05). MRI, macroscopy and histology showed better repair results and bony incorporation in mosaicplasty with the tissue-engineered cartilage group than those of the single mosaicplasty group. Mosaicplasty with the tissue-engineered cartilage is a promising approach to repair osteochodndral defects. Morphological MRI and T2 mapping provide a non-invasive method for monitoring the maturation and integration of cartilage repair tissue in vivo.
authors: Department of Radiology, the Second Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230601, China.
authors: Qichun
authors: Q
authors: Chen
authors: Department of Orthopedics, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China.
authors: Qiang
authors: Q
authors: Zuo
authors: Department of Radiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China.
authors: Qianqian
authors: Q
authors: Hu
authors: Department of Radiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China.
authors: Yang
authors: Y
authors: Feng
authors: Department of Orthopedics, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China.
authors: Weiding
authors: W
authors: Cui
authors: Department of Orthopedics, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China.
authors: Weimin
authors: W
authors: Fan
authors: Department of Radiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China.
authors: Yuefen
authors: Y
authors: Zou
keywords: T2 mapping; cartilage repair; magnetic resonance imaging; mosaicplasty; tissue engineering