OBJECTIVE: To investigate the migratory, metabolic and proliferative ability of rabbit fibrochondrocytes in meniscal fragments of different sizes under an in vivo subcutaneous environment. METHODS: Adult, male, New Zealand white rabbit menisci were harvested and the inner two-thirds of each were minced into different sizes: 0.5 × 0.5 × 0.5 mm (group A); 1.0 × 1.0 × 1.0 mm (group B); 2.0 × 2.0 × 2.0 mm (group C). Meniscal fragments were packed into a fascia sheath, then implanted subcutaneously. At weeks 1, 2 and 3 postimplantation, meniscal fragments were harvested; cell migration and viability were then evaluated by confocal laser scanning microscopy and haematoxylin and eosin staining. Aggrecan was detected using Safranin O and Fast Green staining, and protein levels of types I and II collagen, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Protein levels of types I and II collagen and PCNA, and fibrochondrocyte migration, were highest in group A compared with groups B and C, but aggrecan staining remained the same across the groups. CONCLUSION: There was an inverse relationship between the migratory, metabolic and proliferative abilities of rabbit fibrochondrocytes and meniscal fragment size.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the migratory, metabolic and proliferative ability of rabbit fibrochondrocytes in meniscal fragments of different sizes under an in vivo subcutaneous environment. METHODS: Adult, male, New Zealand white rabbit menisci were harvested and the inner two-thirds of each were minced into different sizes: 0.5 × 0.5 × 0.5 mm (group A); 1.0 × 1.0 × 1.0 mm (group B); 2.0 × 2.0 × 2.0 mm (group C). Meniscal fragments were packed into a fascia sheath, then implanted subcutaneously. At weeks 1, 2 and 3 postimplantation, meniscal fragments were harvested; cell migration and viability were then evaluated by confocal laser scanning microscopy and haematoxylin and eosin staining. Aggrecan was detected using Safranin O and Fast Green staining, and protein levels of types I and II collagen, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Protein levels of types I and II collagen and PCNA, and fibrochondrocyte migration, were highest in group A compared with groups B and C, but aggrecan staining remained the same across the groups. CONCLUSION: There was an inverse relationship between the migratory, metabolic and proliferative abilities of rabbit fibrochondrocytes and meniscal fragment size.