Abstract
Background:
To enhance articular cartilage healing, microfractures (Mfx) and bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC) are commonly used, and some form of scaffold is often used together to increase its efficacy. Herein, we compared the efficacy of atelocollagen scaffold to that of collagen scaffold when used with Mfx or BMAC on osteochondral defect of animal.
Methods:
This experiment was designed in two stages, and therapeutic effects of Mfx and BMAC were respectively evaluated when used with atelocollagen or collagen scaffold. Femoral condyle defects were artificially created in male New Zealand White rabbits, and in each stage, 12 rabbits were randomly allocated into three treatment groups: test group with additional atelocollagen scaffold, the positive control group with collagen scaffold, and the negative control group. Then, for 12 weeks, macroscopic and histological evaluations were performed.
Results:
At 12 weeks, defects in the test group were fully regenerated with normal cartilage-like tissue, and were well integrated with the surrounding cartilage at both stages experiment, whereas defects in the control groups were not fully filled with regenerated tissue, and the tissue appeared as fibrous tissue. Histologically, the regenerated tissue in the test group showed a statistically significant improvement compared to the positive and negative control groups, achieving a similar structure as normal articular cartilage.
Conclusion:
The results showed that implantation of the atelocollagen scaffold enhanced cartilage regeneration following osteochondral defects in rabbits. This suggests that the atelocollagen scaffold can be used with Mfx or BMAC for effective regeneration of osteochondral defects.
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Data availability
The data presented in this study are available on request from all the authors.
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This study was approved by the ethics committee (Cellontech Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee [IACUC]) for animal experimentation and followed all institutional guidelines for the care and treatment of experimental animals (IACUC No. SC-IACUC-19-002/SC-IACUC-21-002).
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Yoo, JC., Kim, M.S., Sohn, S. et al. Atelocollagen Scaffold Enhances Cartilage Regeneration in Osteochondral Defects: A Study in Rabbits. Tissue Eng Regen Med 21, 329–339 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13770-023-00589-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13770-023-00589-y