Comparative study of the covered area of Leeds-Keio (LK) artificial ligament and radio frequency generated glow discharge treated Leeds-Keio (Bio-LK) ligament with synovial cells.

The Leeds-Keio artificial ligament (LK), which was developed not only as a ligament substitute but also as a scaffold for tissue induction in knee ligament reconstruction, has been in clinical use since 1982 in Europe and Japan. Recently, we have developed radio frequency generated glow discharge (RFGD)-treated LK ligament (Bio-LK) to expedite the process of tissue induction and its maturation. In this study of cell adhesion to the scaffold, we report the difference in the covered area with synovial cells when using scaffolds made from treated and untreated materials. Plasma clot methods were used in this study. The covered area on LK and Bio-LK by cells was stained by 0.1% toluidine blue and analyzed using NIH image. The covered area of Bio-LK was about three times higher than that of LK (untreated) at 3 weeks. In scanning electron microscopy, more cells were observed on fibers of Bio-LK, and these filled the space among the fibers more extensively. The spreading of covered area means that cell attachment, cell proliferation, and cell migration on the fibers are likely to be improved. Our experimental study indicates that Bio-LK will possibly speed up the process of induction of autogenous tissue from synovium.