Comparative study on cartilage tissue collected from less- and severely-affected region of osteoarthritic knee

Culture expanded chondrocytes isolated from non-load bearing region of osteoarthritic (OA) joint has been used to construct tissue engineered cartilage for treatment purposes. The aim of the study was to compare the histological properties of the cartilage tissue and morphological properties of the chondrocytes isolated from less and severely affected OA knee. Human articular cartilage was obtained as redundant tissue from consented patients with late-stage OA undergoing total knee replacement surgery at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC). Articular cartilage was graded according to Dougados and Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) classification. Articular cartilage was classified into less affected (LA; Grade 0-1) and severely affected (SA; Grade 2-3). Cartilage tissue from less and severely affected region was stained with Safranin O staining. Isolated chondrocytes from each group were cultured until passage 4 (P4). Their growth patterns, cell areas, and circularity were compared. LA-cartilage tissue shows uniform spread of safranin O staining indicating intact extracellular matrix (ECM) component. However, SA-cartilage shows significant reduction and unstable staining due to its degraded ECM. LA-chondrocytes showed an aggregated growth compared to SA-chondrocyte that remains monolayer. Moreover, LA-chondrocytes have significantly higher cell area with wider spreading at passage 0 and 4 compared to SA-chondrocytes. It was also found that chondrocyte circularity increased with passage, and circularity of LAchondrocytes was significantly higher than that of the SA-chondrocytes at passage 3. This study demonstrated the considerable difference in the cellular properties for less and severely affected chondrocytes and implication of these differences in cell-based therapy needed to be explored

Combining regenerative medicine strategies to provide durable reconstructive options: auricular cartilage tissue engineering

Recent advances in regenerative medicine place us in a unique position to improve the quality of engineered tissue. We use auricular cartilage as an exemplar to illustrate how the use of tissue-specific adult stem cells, assembly through additive manufacturing and improved understanding of postnatal tissue maturation will allow us to more accurately replicate native tissue anisotropy. This review highlights the limitations of autologous auricular reconstruction, including donor site morbidity, technical considerations and long-term complications. Current tissue-engineered auricular constructs implanted into immune-competent animal models have been observed to undergo inflammation, fibrosis, foreign body reaction, calcification and degradation. Combining biomimetic regenerative medicine strategies will allow us to improve tissue-engineered auricular cartilage with respect to biochemical composition and functionality, as well as microstructural organization and overall shape. Creating functional and durable tissue has the potential to shift the paradigm in reconstructive surgery by obviating the need for donor sites

Combining radiographic, urodynamic and ultrasonographic techniques for the evaluation of urinary bladder structure and function in an animal model

The urinary bladder can be affected by either congenital or acquired disease leading to small, noncompliant, hypertonic urinary bladder with subsequent transfer of high pressure to upper tract leading to renal function deterioration and renal failure. The aim of urinary bladder reconstruction was to restore normal structure and functions of the urinary bladder. Successful reconstructions should be confirmed by measurement and evaluation of bladder structure and functions. In this study, different modalities such as radiography (CT scan), ultrasonography, and urodynamic were used to assess urinary bladder structure and functions in an animal model. The radiographic (CT scan) and ultrasonography have mostly structural data, while urodynamic studies produce functional parameters. Using these combined modalities we could measure and determine the normal urinary bladder volume, bladder filling pressure, voiding pressure, bladder shape, outline border, three dimension (3D) configurations, locations, and bladder dimensions. Radiography showed bladder as oval, contrast filled hollow organ, localized centrally. Mean bladder volume was 1.42 ml±0.03. Ultrasonography showed bladder as oval, elongated hypo echoic urine filled organ with, wall thickness 1mm at bladder dome and 2mm at bladder base. Mean volume was 1.44 ml±0.05. Urodynamic study showed low intravesical filling pressure with a mean value of 6-5 cm H2O, while the mean voiding pressure was 18-19cmH2O. Mean bladder volume was 1.40 ml±0.02. The acquired data for the normal (control) animals may be used as a reference for further evaluations of our future research on urinary bladder reconstructions using tissue engineering technology