Repair of knee articular cartilage defects with bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells and bioprotein gel compound in rabbits / 中华创伤杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the role of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) compounded with bioprotein gel (Bg) in repair of knee articular cartilage defects of rabbits.Methods Bilateral femoral condylar cartilage defect models (3.5 mm in diameter and 3 mm in depth) were established in 36 healthy New Zealand rabbits.Animals were divided into three groups of 12 rabbits each according to the random number tableBMSCs-Bg group,Bg group and blank control group.Effect of repair was evaluated by anatomic observation and histological examination at 4,8,12 and 16 weeks after operation and by articular cartilage histological hemi-quantitative scoring system.Results Hyaline-like cartilage was noted in BMSCs-Bg group at 4 weeks postoperatively,got close to the normal at 8 and 12 weeks and showed no disintegration at 16 weeks.Only fibrous tissue or fibrocartilage was observed in other 2 groups.In BMSCs-Bg group histology scores were (4.5 ± 0.1) points,(4.9 ± 0.1) points,(5.5 ± 0.1) points,and (6.2 ± 0.1) points respectively at 4,8,12 and 16 weeks,higher than those in other 2 groups (P ＜ 0.05).Besides,the histology scores were higher in Bg group than in blank control group but the differences were insignificant.Conclusion BMSCs-Bg compound can well repair the articular cartilage defect in a short-term period,when Bg contributes to cartilage generation as a good cell carrier.