Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Biochemical, biomechanical and histological properties of osteoarthritic porcine knee cartilage: implications for osteochondral transplantation

  • Trauma Surgery
  • Published:
Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Introduction

Cartilage lesions of the knee joint are frequently observed during arthroscopy and when surgical intervention is required, osteochondral autograft procedures are an established method of treatment. Frequently lesions are located on the medial femoral condyle (MFC), and typical donor locations for osteochondral grafts include the medial and lateral patellar groove. This technique provides good results, even when the quality of cartilage transplanted from an osteoarthritic joint is doubtful. This study characterizes biological, biomechanical and histological properties of cartilage explants from the patellar groove harvested from osteoarthritic joints.

Materials and methods

Cylindrical cartilage explants were harvested from the arthritic areas of the MFC as well as normal appearing regions of the medial and lateral patellar groove from porcine joints revealing various grades of osteoarthritis. Matrix synthesis rates were determined, and explants were investigated by mechanical testing and histology.

Results

Articular cartilage obtained from the typical donor areas of the medial and lateral patellar groove provided constant enhanced material properties, matrix synthesis rates and histological appearance compared to samples from the arthritic lesions of the MFC, even in joints with end-stage osteoarthritis of the MFC. No significant difference was found between patellar groove cartilage samples harvested from joints with different stages of osteoarthritis.

Conclusion

Our findings demonstrate that healthy appearing cartilage from the patellar groove does not undergo significant alterations in material properties due to the arthritic milieu present in osteoarthritic joints. Accordingly these locations provide a source of functional tissue for transplant procedures even in joints with end-stage osteoarthritis.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Ahmad CS, Cohen ZA, Levine WN, Ateshian GA, Mow VC (2001) Biomechanical and topographic considerations for autologous osteochondral grafting in the knee. Am J Sports Med 29:201–206

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Alford JW, Cole BJ (2005) Cartilage restoration, part 2: techniques, outcomes, and future directions. Am J Sports Med 33:443–460

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Aroen A, Loken S, Heir S, Alvik E, Ekeland A, Granlund OG, Engebretsen L (2004) Articular cartilage lesions in 993 consecutive knee arthroscopies. Am J Sports Med 32:211–215

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Bartz RL, Kamaric E, Noble PC, Lintner D, Bocell J (2001) Topographic matching of selected donor and recipient sites for osteochondral autografting of the articular surface of the femoral condyles. Am J Sports Med 29:207–212

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Baumgaertner MR, Cannon WD Jr, Vittori JM, Schmidt ES, Maurer RC (1990) Arthroscopic debridement of the arthritic knee. Clin Orthop Relat Res 253:197–202

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Bert JM, Maschka K (1989) The arthroscopic treatment of unicompartmental gonarthrosis: a five-year follow-up study of abrasion arthroplasty plus arthroscopic debridement and arthroscopic debridement alone. Arthroscopy 5:25–32

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Bobic V (1996) Arthroscopic osteochondral autograft transplantation in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: a preliminary clinical study. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 3:262–264

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Bradley JP, Petrie RS (2001) Osteochondritis dissecans of the humeral capitellum. Diagnosis and treatment. Clin Sports Med 20:565–590

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Brittberg M, Lindahl A, Nilsson A, Ohlsson C, Isaksson O, Peterson L (1994) Treatment of deep cartilage defects in the knee with autologous chondrocyte transplantation. N Engl J Med 331:889–895

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Brittberg M, Nilsson A, Lindahl A, Ohlsson C, Peterson L (1996) Rabbit articular cartilage defects treated with autologous cultured chondrocytes. Clin Orthop Relat Res 326:270–283

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Brittberg M, Winalski CS (2003) Evaluation of cartilage injuries and repair. J Bone Joint Surg Am 85-A(Suppl 2):58–69

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Buckwalter JA, Lohmander S (1994) Operative treatment of osteoarthrosis. Current practice and future development. J Bone Joint Surg Am 76:1405–1418

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Chen AC, Nagrampa JP, Schinagl RM, Lottman LM, Sah RL (1997) Chondrocyte transplantation to articular cartilage explants in vitro. J Orthop Res 15:791–802

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Convery FR, Akeson WH, Keown GH (1972) The repair of large osteochondral defects. An experimental study in horses. Clin Orthop Relat Res 82:253–262

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Cs-Szabo G, Melching LI, Roughley PJ, Glant TT (1997) Changes in messenger RNA and protein levels of proteoglycans and link protein in human osteoarthritic cartilage samples. Arthritis Rheum 40:1037–1045

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Curl WW, Krome J, Gordon ES, Rushing J, Smith BP, Poehling GG (1997) Cartilage injuries: a review of 31,516 knee arthroscopies. Arthroscopy 13:456–460

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Dandy DJ (1991) Arthroscopic debridement of the knee for osteoarthritis. J Bone Joint Surg Br 73:877–878

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Duchow J, Hess T, Kohn D (2000) Primary stability of press-fit-implanted osteochondral grafts. Influence of graft size, repeated insertion, and harvesting technique. Am J Sports Med 28:24–27

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Fermor B, Jeffcoat D, Hennerbichler A, Pisetsky DS, Weinberg JB, Guilak F (2004) The effects of cyclic mechanical strain and tumor necrosis factor alpha on the response of cells of the meniscus. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 12:956–962

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Friedman MJ, Berasi CC, Fox JM, Del Pizzo W, Snyder SJ, Ferkel RD (1984) Preliminary results with abrasion arthroplasty in the osteoarthritic knee. Clin Orthop Relat Res 182:200–205

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Gill TJ (2000) The treatment of articular cartilage defects using microfracture and debridement. Am J Knee Surg 13:33–40

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Goldberg VM, Caplan AI (1999) Biologic restoration of articular surfaces. Instr Course Lect 48:623–627

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Goldring SR, Goldring MB (2004) The role of cytokines in cartilage matrix degeneration in osteoarthritis. Clin Orthop Relat Res 427:S27–S36

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Gross AE (2002) Repair of cartilage defects in the knee. J Knee Surg 15:167–169

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Hangody L, Fules P (2003) Autologous osteochondral mosaicplasty for the treatment of full-thickness defects of weight-bearing joints: ten years of experimental and clinical experience. J Bone Joint Surg Am 85-A(Suppl 2):25–32

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Hangody L, Kish G, Karpati Z, Szerb I, Udvarhelyi I (1997) Arthroscopic autogenous osteochondral mosaicplasty for the treatment of femoral condylar articular defects. A preliminary report. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 5:262–267

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Hangody L, Kish G, Karpati Z, Udvarhelyi I, Szigeti I, Bely M (1998) Mosaicplasty for the treatment of articular cartilage defects: application in clinical practice. Orthopedics 21:751–756

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Hangody L, Kish G, Modis L, Szerb I, Gaspar L, Dioszegi Z, Kendik Z (2001) Mosaicplasty for the treatment of osteochondritis dissecans of the talus: two to seven year results in 36 patients. Foot Ankle Int 22:552–558

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Harman BD, Weeden SH, Lichota DK, Brindley GW (2006) Osteochondral autograft transplantation in the porcine knee. Am J Sports Med 34:913–918

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Hashimoto S, Takahashi K, Ochs RL, Coutts RD, Amiel D, Lotz M (1999) Nitric oxide production and apoptosis in cells of the meniscus during experimental osteoarthritis. Arthritis Rheum 42:2123–2131

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Horas U, Pelinkovic D, Herr G, Aigner T, Schnettler R (2003) Autologous chondrocyte implantation and osteochondral cylinder transplantation in cartilage repair of the knee joint. A prospective, comparative trial. J Bone Joint Surg Am 85-A:185–192

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Hunziker EB, Rosenberg LC (1996) Repair of partial-thickness defects in articular cartilage: cell recruitment from the synovial membrane. J Bone Joint Surg Am 78:721–733

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Johnson LL (1986) Arthroscopic abrasion arthroplasty historical and pathologic perspective: present status. Arthroscopy 2:54–69

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Koh JL, Wirsing K, Lautenschlager E, Zhang LO (2004) The effect of graft height mismatch on contact pressure following osteochondral grafting: a biomechanical study. Am J Sports Med 32:317–320

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Kreuz PC, Steinwachs MR, Erggelet C, Krause SJ, Konrad G, Uhl M, Sudkamp N (2006) Results after microfracture of full-thickness chondral defects in different compartments in the knee. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 14:1119–1125

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Kuroki H, Nakagawa Y, Mori K, Ikeuchi K, Nakamura T (2004) Mechanical effects of autogenous osteochondral surgical grafting procedures and instrumentation on grafts of articular cartilage. Am J Sports Med 32:612–620

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Lane JG, Massie JB, Ball ST, Amiel ME, Chen AC, Bae WC, Sah RL, Amiel D (2004) Follow-up of osteochondral plug transfers in a goat model: a 6-month study. Am J Sports Med 32:1440–1450

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. LeBaron RG, Athanasiou KA (2000) Ex vivo synthesis of articular cartilage. Biomaterials 21:2575–2587

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Mandelbaum BR, Browne JE, Fu F, Micheli L, Mosely JB Jr, Erggelet C, Minas T, Peterson L (1998) Articular cartilage lesions of the knee. Am J Sports Med 26:853–861

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Mankin HJ, Dorfman H, Lippiello L, Zarins A (1971) Biochemical and metabolic abnormalities in articular cartilage from osteo-arthritic human hips. II. Correlation of morphology with biochemical and metabolic data. J Bone Joint Surg Am 53:523–537

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Marks PH, Donaldson ML (2005) Inflammatory cytokine profiles associated with chondral damage in the anterior cruciate ligament-deficient knee. Arthroscopy 21:1342–1347

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Messner K, Maletius W (1996) The long-term prognosis for severe damage to weight-bearing cartilage in the knee: a 14-year clinical and radiographic follow-up in 28 young athletes. Acta Orthop Scand 67:165–168

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Minas T (1998) Chondrocyte implantation in the repair of chondral lesions of the knee: economics and quality of life. Am J Orthop 27:739–744

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Mow VC, Kuei SC, Lai WM, Armstrong CG (1980) Biphasic creep and stress relaxation of articular cartilage in compression? Theory and experiments. J Biomech Eng 102:73–84

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Nam EK, Makhsous M, Koh J, Bowen M, Nuber G, Zhang LQ (2004) Biomechanical and histological evaluation of osteochondral transplantation in a rabbit model. Am J Sports Med 32:308–316

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Nehrer S, Spector M, Minas T (1999) Histologic analysis of tissue after failed cartilage repair procedures. Clin Orthop Relat Res 365:149–162

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Noyes FR, Bassett RW, Grood ES, Butler DL (1980) Arthroscopy in acute traumatic hemarthrosis of the knee. Incidence of anterior cruciate tears and other injuries. J Bone Joint Surg Am 62:687–695, 757

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. O’Driscoll SW (1998) The healing and regeneration of articular cartilage. J Bone Joint Surg Am 80:1795–1812

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. Oakley SP, Lassere MN, Portek I, Szomor Z, Ghosh P, Kirkham BW, Murrell GA, Wulf S, Appleyard RC (2004) Biomechanical, histologic and macroscopic assessment of articular cartilage in a sheep model of osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 12:667–679

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  50. Ochi M, Uchio Y, Okuda K, Shu N, Yamaguchi H, Sakai Y (2001) Expression of cytokines after meniscal rasping to promote meniscal healing. Arthroscopy 17:724–731

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  51. Ogilvie-Harris DJ, Fitsialos DP (1991) Arthroscopic management of the degenerative knee. Arthroscopy 7:151–157

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  52. Outerbridge HK, Outerbridge AR, Outerbridge RE (1995) The use of a lateral patellar autologous graft for the repair of a large osteochondral defect in the knee. J Bone Joint Surg Am 77:65–72

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  53. Passler HH (2000) [Microfracture for treatment of cartilage detects]. Zentralbl Chir 125:500–504

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  54. Peretti GM, Gill TJ, Xu JW, Randolph MA, Morse KR, Zaleske DJ (2004) Cell-based therapy for meniscal repair: a large animal study. Am J Sports Med 32:146–158

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  55. Peterson L, Brittberg M, Kiviranta I, Akerlund EL, Lindahl A (2002) Autologous chondrocyte transplantation. Biomechanics and long-term durability. Am J Sports Med 30:2–12

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  56. Poole AR, Nelson F, Hollander A, Reiner A, Pidoux I, Ionescu M (1995) Collagen II turnover in joint diseases. Acta Orthop Scand Suppl 266:88–91

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  57. Poole AR, Rizkalla G, Ionescu M, Reiner A, Brooks E, Rorabeck C, Bourne R, Bogoch E (1993) Osteoarthritis in the human knee: a dynamic process of cartilage matrix degradation, synthesis and reorganization. Agents Actions Suppl 39:3–13

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  58. Poole AR, Rosenberg LC, Reiner A, Ionescu M, Bogoch E, Roughley PJ (1996) Contents and distributions of the proteoglycans decorin and biglycan in normal and osteoarthritic human articular cartilage. J Orthop Res 14:681–689

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  59. Pridie KH (1959) A method of resurfacing osteoarthritic knee joints. J Bone Joint Surg Br 41:618–619

    Google Scholar 

  60. Sahlstrom A, Johnell O, Redlund-Johnell I (1997) The natural course of arthrosis of the knee. Clin Orthop Relat Res 340:152–157

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  61. Steadman JR, Rodkey WG, Rodrigo JJ (2001) Microfracture: surgical technique and rehabilitation to treat chondral defects. Clin Orthop Relat Res 391(Suppl):S362–S369

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  62. Van den Berg WB, Joosten LA, Van de Loo FA (1999) TNF alpha and IL-1 beta are separate targets in chronic arthritis. Clin Exp Rheumatol 17:S105–S114

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  63. Van den Berg WB, van de LF, Joosten LA, Arntz OJ (1999) Animal models of arthritis in NOS2-deficient mice. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 7:413–415

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  64. Vangsness JCT, Burke WS, MacPhee RD, Narvy S (2006) Human knee synovial fluid analysis. International Cartilage Repair Society (San Diego), p 87

  65. Vasara AI, Hyttinen MM, Pulliainen O, Lammi MJ, Jurvelin JS, Peterson L, Lindahl A, Helminen HJ, Kiviranta I (2006) Immature porcine knee cartilage lesions show good healing with or without autologous chondrocyte transplantation. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 14:1066–1074

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  66. Yang KG, Saris DB, Geuze RE, van Rijen MH, van der Helm YJ, Verbout AJ, Creemers LB, Dhert WJ (2006) Altered in vitro chondrogenic properties of chondrocytes harvested from unaffected cartilage in osteoarthritic joints. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 14:561–570

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Trauma Surgery and Sports Medicine, Innsbruck Medical University, Anichstrasse 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria

    Alfred Hennerbichler, Ralf Rosenberger, Rohit Arora & Diana Hennerbichler

Authors
  1. Alfred Hennerbichler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ralf Rosenberger
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Rohit Arora
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Diana Hennerbichler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alfred Hennerbichler.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hennerbichler, A., Rosenberger, R., Arora, R. et al. Biochemical, biomechanical and histological properties of osteoarthritic porcine knee cartilage: implications for osteochondral transplantation. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 128, 61–70 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-007-0360-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-007-0360-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation