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Updated: Jul 16, 2025
Treatment of Osteochondral Defects in the Rabbit's Knee Joint by Implantation of Allogeneic Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Fibrin Clots
Published on: May 21, 2013
Fibronectin-coated polyurethane meniscal scaffolding supplemented with MSCs improves scaffold integration and
Raúl Torres-Claramunt1,2,3, Santos Martínez-Díaz4,5, Juan F Sánchez-Soler4,5
1Orthopaedic Department, Hospital del Mar, Universitat Autònoma Barcelona, Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 25-29, 08003, Barcelona, Spain. rtorresclaramunt@psmar.cat.
Purpose:
The role of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) in supporting the formation of new meniscal tissue in a meniscal scaffold is not well understood. The objective of this study was to assess the quality of the meniscal tissue produced in a fibronectin (FN)-coated polyurethane (PU) meniscal scaffold after a meniscal injury was made in an experimental rabbit model.
Methods:
Twelve New Zealand white rabbits were divided in two groups after performing a medial meniscectomy of the anterior horn. In group 1, the meniscal defect was reconstructed with a non-MSC supplemented FN-coated PU scaffold. On the other hand, the same scaffold supplemented with MSCs was used in group 2. The animals were sacrificed at 12 week after index surgery. A modified scoring system was used for histological assessment. This new scoring (ranging from 0 to 15) includes a structural evaluation (meniscal scaffold interface and extracellular matrix production) and tissue quality evaluation (proteoglycan and type I-collagen content).
Results:
The meniscal scaffold was found loose in the joint in three cases, corresponding to two cases in group 1 and 1 case in group 2. No differences were observed between the groups in terms of the total score (7.0 ± 0.9 vs. 9.4 ± 2.6, p = 0.09). However, differences were observed in group 2 in which 2 out of the 5 scored items, scaffold integration (1 ± 0.0 vs. 1.9 ± 0.6, p = 0.03) and proteoglycan production (1.2 ± 0.3 vs. 2.4 ± 0.2, p = 0.001). A trend to a higher production of Type I-Collagen production was also observed in group 2 (1.1 ± 0.4 vs. 1.4 ± 0.7, p = 0.05).
Conclusion:
In a rabbit model at 12 weeks, the adhesion of MSCs to a FN-coated PU scaffold improves scaffold integration, proteoglycan production and the characteristics of the new meniscal-like tissue obtained when compared to a non-supplemented scaffold. This fact could be a major step toward improving the adhesion of the MSCs to meniscal scaffolds and, consequently, the obtention of better quality meniscal tissue.
