Elizabeth Vinod1, Soosai Manickam Amirtham2, Upasana Kachroo2, Anjali Goyal3, Ozlem Ozbey4, Jithu Varghese James5, Solomon Sathishkumar6, Boopalan Ramasamy7. 1. Department of Physiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore 632002, India; Centre for Stem Cell Research, Christian Medical College, Vellore 632002, India. Electronic address: elsyclarence@cmcvellore.ac.in. 2. Department of Physiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore 632002, India. 3. Department of Pathology, Smt NHL Municipal Medical College, Ahmedabad 380006, India. Electronic address: anjali@knee.in. 4. Department of Histology and Embryology Campus, School of Medicine, Akdeniz University, Antalya 07070, Turkey. 5. Department of Biochemistry, Christian Medical College, Vellore 632002, India. 6. Department of Physiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore 632002, India. Electronic address: solomon@cmcvellore.ac.in. 7. Department of Orthopaedics, Royal Darwin Hospital, 105 Rocklands Drive, Tiwi, NT 0810, Australia. Electronic address: boopalan.ramasamy@nt.gov.au.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Articular chondroprogenitors are a promising contender for cartilage repair due to their inherent nature which stands primed for chondrogenesis and minimal hypertrophic preponderance. Platelet rich plasma (PRP) has been extensively used for treating cartilage defects and osteoarthritis (OA), due to its chondro-inductive properties and abundant pool of growth factors. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of chondroprogenitors injected with PRP versus PRP alone in the healing of experimentally created early OA and osteochondral defects (OCD) in a rabbit model. METHODS: Adult New Zealand White male rabbits were used for cell and PRP isolation. Chondroprogenitors were isolated by fibronectin adhesion assay, labelled with iron oxide, characterized for surface markers, differential potential and expanded. PRP was isolated by double spin centrifugation using a TriCell kit. Study groups included (a) Monosodium iodoacetate induced early OA and (b) critical OCD. Following intervention (test arm: PRP+ chondroprogenitors and control arm: PRP), assessment was performed at 6- and 12-weeks which included histopathological examination and scoring (OARSI and Modified Wakitani score), immunohistochemistry analysis (Collagen type II and X) and synovial fluid S100A12 levels. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Comparable, evident healing was noticed in both test and control arms when the OA group samples were assessed at both time points. In the OCD group, PRP alone exhibited significantly better results than the test arm, although repair was notable in both interventions. Further evaluation of chondroprogenitors is required to assess their role as a standalone therapy and in combination with PRP to further cartilage regeneration.
BACKGROUND: Articular chondroprogenitors are a promising contender for cartilage repair due to their inherent nature which stands primed for chondrogenesis and minimal hypertrophic preponderance. Platelet rich plasma (PRP) has been extensively used for treating cartilage defects and osteoarthritis (OA), due to its chondro-inductive properties and abundant pool of growth factors. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of chondroprogenitors injected with PRP versus PRP alone in the healing of experimentally created early OA and osteochondral defects (OCD) in a rabbit model. METHODS: Adult New Zealand White male rabbits were used for cell and PRP isolation. Chondroprogenitors were isolated by fibronectin adhesion assay, labelled with iron oxide, characterized for surface markers, differential potential and expanded. PRP was isolated by double spin centrifugation using a TriCell kit. Study groups included (a) Monosodium iodoacetate induced early OA and (b) critical OCD. Following intervention (test arm: PRP+ chondroprogenitors and control arm: PRP), assessment was performed at 6- and 12-weeks which included histopathological examination and scoring (OARSI and Modified Wakitani score), immunohistochemistry analysis (Collagen type II and X) and synovial fluid S100A12 levels. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Comparable, evident healing was noticed in both test and control arms when the OA group samples were assessed at both time points. In the OCD group, PRP alone exhibited significantly better results than the test arm, although repair was notable in both interventions. Further evaluation of chondroprogenitors is required to assess their role as a standalone therapy and in combination with PRP to further cartilage regeneration.