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Repair of avascular meniscal injuries using juvenile meniscal fragments: An in vitro organ culture study
Author(s) -
Dai Zhu,
Li Kanghua,
Chen Zhiwei,
Liao Ying,
Yang Lezhong,
Liu Chunlei,
Ding Wenjun
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of orthopaedic research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.041
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1554-527X
pISSN - 0736-0266
DOI - 10.1002/jor.22405
Subject(s) - histology , confocal , anatomy , juvenile , confocal microscopy , immunohistochemistry , fibrocartilage , medicine , pathology , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , osteoarthritis , geometry , mathematics , genetics , articular cartilage , alternative medicine
We investigated whether the implantation of juvenile allograft and minced meniscal fragments could improve the healing of avascular meniscal injuries, which cannot heal spontaneously. Concentric cylindrical explants were excised from the inner two‐thirds of swine medial menisci. The inner cylinder consisted of a “sandwich” structure, with minced juvenile meniscal fragments, juvenile meniscal columns, minced mature meniscal fragments, or mature meniscal columns implanted in the middle. The explants were cultured in vitro for 2, 4, or 6 weeks. Interfacial meniscal repair was assessed by histology, immunohistochemistry, biomechanical testing, and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Histology and confocal microscopy results revealed that tissue repair and cell accumulation at the interface were best at all time points in the juvenile meniscal fragments group, followed by the juvenile columns, minced mature fragments, and mature columns groups, respectively. At 6 weeks, the implantation of juvenile allograft and minced meniscal fragments increased the shear strength, peak force, and energy to failure in the peripheral interface. Picosirius red/polarized light microscopy and immunohistochemistry results showed concurrent expression of type I and II collagen in the interfacial repair tissue. In conclusion, implantation of juvenile allograft and minced meniscal fragments could increase the healing of avascular meniscal injury in vitro. © 2013 Orthopaedic Research Society Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 31:1514–1519, 2013