CHONDROCYTE TRANSPLANTATION USING A COLLAGEN BILAYER MATRIX FOR CARTILAGE REPAIRS. R. Frenkel, PhD; B. Toolan, MD; D. Menche, MD; and M. I. Pitman, MDOrthopaedic Institute, Hospital for Joint Diseases, Bernard Aronson Plaza, 301 East 17th Street, New York, NY 10003, USA. J. M. Pachence, PhD BioImplant Technologies Corporation, Hopewell, New Jersey 08525, USA. Correspondence should be sent to Dr S. R. Frenkel We have developed a novel, two-layered, collagen matrix seeded with chondrocytes for repair of articular cartilage. It consists of a dense collagen layer which is in contact with bone and a porous matrix to support the seeded chondrocytes. The matrices were implanted in rabbit femoral trochleas for up to 24 weeks. The control groups received either a matrix without cells or no implant. The best histological repair was seen with cell-seeded implants. The permeability and glycosaminoglycan content of both implant groups were nearly normal, but were significantly less in tissue from empty defects. The type-II collagen content of the seeded implants was normal. For unseeded implants it was 74.3% of the normal and for empty defects only 20%. The current treatments for articular injury often result in a fibrous repair which deteriorates with time. This bilayer implant allowed sustained hyaline-like repair of articular defects during the entire six-month period of observation. This article has been cited by other articles:
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