Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. This article is part of a special focus issue on Animal Models in Tissue Engineering.
Part I. Address correspondence to:, Robert L. After cartilage injury and repair, the subchondral bone plate remodels. Skeletal maturity likely impacts both bone remodeling and inherent cartilage repair capacity. The objective of this study was to evaluate subchondral bone remodeling as a function of injury type, repair scenario, and skeletal maturity in a Yucatan minipig model.
At 6 weeks postoperatively, osteochondral samples containing the lesion site were imaged by micro-computed tomography CT and analyzed by histology and immunohistochemistry. For the PCD injury, both age groups had values close to the control values. For the FCD groups, there were greater alterations in the subchondral bone in juveniles compared with adults.
This large animal study of cartilage repair shows the significant impact of skeletal maturity on the propensity of subchondral bone to remodel as a result of chondral injury. This will improve selection criteria for animal models for studying cartilage injury, repair, and treatment. G iven the high prevalence of focal cartilage injuries and the propensity for such defects to instigate the early onset of osteoarthritis, a number of surgical treatment options to enhance cartilage repair have been developed.
Techniques involving the subchondral bone, for example, microfracture MFX , as well as techniques that do not disturb the cement line, for example, autologous chondrocyte implantation ACI , are commonly employed. Although such treatments can positively impact regeneration of cartilage, they may have unwanted effects on the underlying bone. For example, after treatment by MFX or ACI, subchondral bony remodeling has been reported, ranging in severity from upward bony migration 1β4 to the formation of intralesional osteophytes or cysts.
