Integrative repair of articular cartilage in vitro: adhesive strength of the interface region.

The objective of this study was to quantify the strength of the repair tissue that forms at the interface between pairs of cartilage explants maintained in apposition in an in vitro culture system. Articular cartilage explants were harvested from calves and from adult bovine animals, dissected into uniform blocks, and incubated in pairs within a chamber that maintained a 4 x 5 mm area of tissue overlap. Following 1-3 weeks of incubation, integrative repair was assessed by testing samples in a tensile single-lap configuration to estimate adhesive strength. After incubation in medium containing 20% fetal bovine serum, the adhesive strength between pairs of calf cartilage blocks and pairs of adult bovine cartilage blocks increased at a rate of 7.0 and 10.5 kPa/week, respectively. This repair process appeared to be dependent on viable cells, since lyophilization of adult bovine cartilage before incubation completely inhibited the development of an interface with a measurable adhesive strength. The repair process was dependent on serum components in the medium. Incubation of sample pairs for 3 weeks in medium supplemented with 20% fetal bovine serum resulted in a relatively high proteoglycan content as well as a relatively high adhesive strength (34 kPa), whereas incubation in basal medium with or without 0.1% bovine serum albumin resulted in a 54-70% lower proteoglycan content and a 65-88% lower adhesive strength. Samples incubated for 3 weeks with serum also had a 20% higher DNA content than samples maintained in basal medium. Histological analysis indicated some cell division at the free surfaces of the explant and also occasional cells within the interface region between explants.