Alper Gültekin1, Yücel Ağirdil2, Büşra Öncel Duman3, Cansu Subaşi4, Erdal Karaöz4,5,6. 1. Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Derince Training and Research Hospital, Kocaeli, Turkey 2. Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, İzzet Baysal State Hospital, Bolu, Turkey 3. Stem Cell Department, Center for Stem Cell and Gene Therapies Research and Practice, Institute of Health Sciences, Kocaeli, Turkey 4. Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research and Manufacturing,Liv Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey 5. Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, İstinye University, İstanbul, Turkey 6. Center for Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering Research and Practice, İstinye University, İstanbul, Turkey
Abstract
Background/aim: The treatment of posttraumatic deformities and differences in length between the extremities resulting from physeal injury remains controversial. The aims of this study were to compare the efficacy of tissue-engineered, monolayer, and allogeneic mesenchymal stem cell sheets and chondrocyte sheets for physeal arrest treatment and to investigate cell sheet technology as a novel method for cell transplantation in physeal cartilage repair. Materials and methods: A proximal tibial physeal injury was induced in New Zealand rabbits. Allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and chondrocytes were cultured in temperature-responsive culture dishes and applied to the iatrogenic partial growth plate defects in single-sheet grafts (cell sheets). Treatment efficacy was determined using radiological measurements, as well as histological and immunohistochemical staining. Results: Treatment with MSCs and chondrocytes prevented endochondral ossification in the physeal plate, and bone growth resumed after treatment in both the MSC and chondrocyte cell groups. We found significant differences in radiological evaluations between pre- and posttreatment measurements in both MSC and chondrocyte groups. Transplanted cells were observed in the damaged area in both of the groups, which differentiated in the direction of growth plate cartilage. Conclusion: Our results support the hypothesis that MSC or chondrocyte transplantation using the cell-sheet technique described in the present study aids in the regeneration of cartilage tissue during physeal arrest after growth plate damage. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Background/aim: The treatment of posttraumatic deformities and differences in length between the extremities resulting from physeal injury remains controversial. The aims of this study were to compare the efficacy of tissue-engineered, monolayer, and allogeneic mesenchymal stem cell sheets and chondrocyte sheets for physeal arrest treatment and to investigate cell sheet technology as a novel method for cell transplantation in physeal cartilage repair. Materials and methods: A proximal tibial physeal injury was induced in New Zealand rabbits. Allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and chondrocytes were cultured in temperature-responsive culture dishes and applied to the iatrogenic partial growth plate defects in single-sheet grafts (cell sheets). Treatment efficacy was determined using radiological measurements, as well as histological and immunohistochemical staining. Results: Treatment with MSCs and chondrocytes prevented endochondral ossification in the physeal plate, and bone growth resumed after treatment in both the MSC and chondrocyte cell groups. We found significant differences in radiological evaluations between pre- and posttreatment measurements in both MSC and chondrocyte groups. Transplanted cells were observed in the damaged area in both of the groups, which differentiated in the direction of growth plate cartilage. Conclusion: Our results support the hypothesis that MSC or chondrocyte transplantation using the cell-sheet technique described in the present study aids in the regeneration of cartilage tissue during physeal arrest after growth plate damage. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.