Articular cartilage repair in rabbits by using suspensions of allogenic chondrocytes in alginate

The feasibility of allogenic implants of chondrocytes in alginate gels was tested for the reconstruction in vivo of artificially full-thickness-damage d articular rabbit cartilage. The suspensions of chondrocytes in alginate w ere gelled by the addition of calcium chloride solution directly into the d efects giving in situ a construct perfectly inserted and adherent to the su bchondral bone and to the walls of intact cartilage. The tissue repair was controlled at 1, 2, 4 and 6 months after the implant by NMR microscopy, syn chrotron radiation induced X-ray emission to map the sulfur of glycosaminog lycans and by histochemistry. Practically a complete repair of the defect w as observed 4-6 months from the implant of the chondrocytes with the recove ry of a normal tissue structure. Controls in which Ca-alginate alone was im planted developed only a fibrous cartilage. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.