Bone marrow stimulation techniques (BSTs) are widely used in clinics to treat cartilage defects, but yet have a critical limitation from the loss of blood clots. In this work, a novel cartilage extracellular matrix (CECM) membrane is developed to protect blood clots after BSTs. The CECM membrane was made of ECM fabricated naturally by cultured porcine chondrocytes, and then decellularized and multi-layered to confer optimal mechanical strength. Highly compatible with cells, the CECM membrane did not show any cytotoxicity or immune responses in vivo. The CECM membrane was very thin (30-60 µ m thick) and bendable, but had good tensile strength (85.64 N), suitable for protecting blood clots from leakage in rabbit cartilage defect. Moreover, the CECM membrane showed low but enough diffusion coeffi cient to allow delivery of small proteins in synovial fl uid into the repaired tissue. In a beagle model, covering the cartilage defect with the CECM membrane after BST generated more hyaline cartilage-like tissues than the BST alone in histology and chemical analyses at 18 weeks. Its ICRS score was approximately 2.5 times higher than that of the BST alone. Therefore, the CECM membrane is proposed as a useful tool that can improve the outcome of BSTs to treat cartilage defects.
The therapeutic effect of bone marrow stimulation techniques (BSTs) is mainly attributed to the role of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from the bone marrow. However, no studies have directly shown the amount of MSCs drained by BSTs. This study hypothesized that differences in the opening of subchondral bone affect the number of MSCs drained from the bone marrow. We purposed that as the exposed area and hole size of BSTs vary, the number of MSCs drained out was measured. Three groups of different BSTs were designed that have variations in the sizes of total exposed area and individual holes. Three different BSTs using a curette, 1.5-and 0.8-mm awls were carried out on the full-thickness femoral cartilage defect of young rabbits. After BST, the number of MSCs in the blood clot was measured by CFU-Fs assay. As the size of the total exposed area increased, so did the number of MSCs obtained. The number of MSCs drained from bone marrow may vary depending on different BSTs and this could affect therapeutic efficacy of cartilage defect. As current microfracture (MF) method cannot drain the most MSCs clinically, more improved surgery technique is needed. ß
Fibrocartilage and calcification increased in medial meniscus posterior roots, associated with the degree of the tear. Both findings, which impair the ligament's resistance to tension, may play a pivotal role during the pathogenesis of degenerative meniscus root tears in osteoarthritic knees. Fibrocartilage and calcification may be useful as diagnostic markers as well as markers of degeneration, which may aid in determining the treatment modality in meniscus root tears. The presence of fibrocartilage in intact roots may suggest an impending tear in osteoarthritic knees.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.