A SIMPLE METHOD OF CARTILAGE REGENERATION USING A NEW POLYMERIZING SYSTEM - ULTRASTRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE REPAIR TISSUE

The ultrastructural characteristics of the repair tissue in large arti cular cartilage defects, filled with a heterocyclic polymerizing syste m were studied using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive micro-analysis (EDMA). By six weeks post-implantation, the defects were resurfaced with predominantly hyaline-like articular car tilage. Chondrocytes in both the superficial and deep zones of the rep air tissue were highly productive, secreting large amounts of proteogl ycans, into a well-organized, rich in collagen fibrils, extracellular matrix. By contrast, in the repair tissue of the defects treated witho ut the biomaterial, proteoglycan synthesis was less and the structure of the matrix was inferior. We conclude that the polymer enhances both chondrocyte metabolism and matrix organization, thus improving the qu ality of the repair tissue in articular cartilage defects.