Can chondral healing be improved following microfracture? The effect of adipocyte tissue derived stem cell therapy

- 30 male rabbits were included to our study.
- Additional effect of Adipocyte Tissue Derived Stem Cell (ADSC) therapy on chondral healing was evaluated.
- Chondral healing was scorred according to ICRS criteria.
- No significant differences detected between isolated Microfracture and ADSC therapy groups.

BackgroundWe aimed to investigate the effect of adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) on chondral healing using the microfracture (MF) technique.MethodsThirty male rabbits were randomly divided into three groups. Standard cylindrical osteochondral defects (OCDs) were created in the weight-bearing areas of the medial condyles of all the right knees; the defects were four millimeters in diameter and two millimeters in depth. The control group (group A) was restricted to spontaneous healing. For group B, we performed MF with a 1.5-mm drill. For group C, we applied MF using the same method and then applied 3 × 106 ADSCs to the defect area. At eight weeks post-operation, the subjects were sacrificed, and the distal femoral joint surfaces were evaluated histopathologically for chondral healing. The samples were scored according to the International Cartilage Repair Society (ICRS) scale.ResultsThe results for group C were significantly better than those for group A in terms of the surface properties (p = 0.003). The matrix evaluation was better for group A than for group C (p = 0.01). The cell distribution, cell viability and subchondral bone parameters were similar between the groups (p = 0.198, p = 0.387 and p = 0.699). The cartilage mineralization parameter was better for group C than for group A (p = 0.001). The signs of healing were better for group C than for group B, but the differences were not significant (p = 0.185).ConclusionsImprovements with additional ADSC treatments were not statistically significant in cases in which ADSC treatment was compared with isolated MF treatment.Clinical RelevanceAdditional ADSCs treatment may have positive effect on chondral healing but it doesn't seem significant.