Capacità adesivo-riparative dei condrociti isolati nei trapianti condrocitari

Background. Articular chondrocyte transplantation technique for repairing of articular cartilage defects requires synthesis of new cartilage tissue, able to adhere to lesion margins. Methods. In this study adhesive-reparative capacity of enzymatically isolated chondrocytes have been investigated. Chondrocytes have been co-cultured onto devitalized cartilage matrices and transplanted in subcutaneous pouches of nude mice for an in vivo evaluation. Thirty-five nude mice have been employed in this study, divided in five experimental times of 7, 14, 21, 28 e 42 days from implantation; each mouse was carrying two experimental and two control samples. Results. Adhesive analysis has shown that bonding of the experimental matrices with viable chondrocytes increased directly with time until all specimens were bonded at days 28 and 42, whereas no adherence was observed at any time period in control matrices without viable chondrocytes. Histological analysis of experimental samples documented newly formed cartilage, behaving as a ''biological glue'', able to achieve adhesion-repair between devitalized cartilage matrices. Conclusions. The results of this study demonstrated that chondrocytes, previously isolated and cultured onto devitalized cartilage matrices, are able to synthesize in vivo a new cartilage tissue, with adhesive capabilities, able to achieve mutual bonding of such scaffold matrices