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Histological and Radiological Assessment of Endogenously Generated Repair Tissue In Vivo Following a Chondral Harvest

McCarthy, Helen S.; Tins, Bernhard; Gallacher, Peter D.; Jermin, Paul; Richardson, James B.; Herman Kuiper, Jan; Roberts, Sally

Histological and Radiological Assessment of Endogenously Generated Repair Tissue In Vivo Following a Chondral Harvest Thumbnail


Authors

Bernhard Tins

Peter D. Gallacher

Paul Jermin

James B. Richardson

Sally Roberts



Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To examine repair tissue formed approximately 15 months after a chondral harvest in the human knee. DESIGN: Sixteen individuals (12 males, 4 females, mean age 36 ± 9 years) underwent a chondral harvest in the trochlea as a pre-requisite for autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) treatment. The harvest site was assessed via MRI at 14.3 ± 3.2 months and arthroscopy at 15 ± 3.5 months (using the Oswestry Arthroscopy Score [O-AS] and the International Cartilage Repair Society Arthroscopy Score [ICRS-AS]). Core biopsies (1.8 mm diameter, n = 16) of repair tissue obtained at arthroscopy were assessed histologically (using the ICRS II and OsScore histology scores) and examined via immunohistochemistry for the presence of collagen types I and II. RESULTS: The mean O-AS and ICRS-AS of the repaired harvest sites were 7.2 ± 3.2 and 10.1 ± 3.5, respectively, with 80.3% ± 26% repair fill depth on MRI. The histological quality of the repair tissue formed was variable, with some hyaline cartilage present in 50% of the biopsies; where this occurred, it was associated with a significantly higher ICRS-AS than those with no hyaline cartilage present (median 11 vs. 7.5, P = 0.049). Collagen types I and II were detected in 12/14 and 10/13 biopsies, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate good-quality structural repair tissue formed following cartilage harvest in ACI, suggesting this site can be useful to study endogenous cartilage repair in humans. The trochlea is less commonly affected by osteoarthritis; therefore, location may be critical for spontaneous repair. Understanding the mechanisms and factors influencing this could improve future treatments for cartilage defects.

Citation

McCarthy, H. S., Tins, B., Gallacher, P. D., Jermin, P., Richardson, J. B., Herman Kuiper, J., & Roberts, S. (2023). Histological and Radiological Assessment of Endogenously Generated Repair Tissue In Vivo Following a Chondral Harvest. Cartilage, 48-58. https://doi.org/10.1177/19476035221149523

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Dec 17, 2022
Publication Date Jan 26, 2023
Publicly Available Date May 30, 2023
Journal CARTILAGE
Print ISSN 1947-6035
Publisher SAGE Publications
Pages 48-58
DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/19476035221149523
Keywords articular cartilage; endogenous healing; trochlea; cartilage regeneration; osteoarthritis
Public URL https://keele-repository.worktribe.com/output/425292
Publisher URL https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/19476035221149523

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