Joint cartilage repair with transplantation of embryonic chondrocytes embedded in collagen-fibrin matrices.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of transplanting embryonic chondrogenic cells within a collagen-fibrin substrate for the reconstitution of full-thickness cartilage defects in chicken knee joints. METHODS Full-thickness cartilage defects were created mechanically on the weight-bearing surface of the tibial condyle in 45 adult chickens and subsequently filled with chondrocytes embedded in a chondrocyte-collagen-fibrin gel. The transplants were compared to untreated defects and collagen-fibrin transplants without cells. The results were analyzed using histochemical and morphometrical methods after 3, 12 and 24 weeks. A semiquantitative histological grading system was applied to evaluate the transplant integration and the newly formed cartilage architecture. RESULTS Chondrocyte-gel grafts developed to hyaline-like cartilage without any granulation tissue in the interface after 3 weeks. After 12 weeks the defects in the experimental group were filled completely with hyaline cartilage. The defects in the control groups in all cases healed with fibrous repair tissue. CONCLUSION Fibrin-collagen gel allowed stable graft fixation and provided an adequate microenvironment for embryonic chondrocytes to generate hyaline-like neocartilage in a full-thickness cartilage defect.