Immunohistochemical analysis for collagen II.

<p>Immunohistochemical analysis for collagen II of the regenerate cartilage in representative slides of all four groups. a) scaffold only b) PRP c) BMAC d) BMAC with PRP. No signs of degenerative changes in the adjacent cartilage were found. In the defects of the therapy groups, areas of chondrogenic tissue, which contained collagen II on the basis of positive immunostaining, were present. However, in the control group the regenerative tissue was generally fibrous. This tissue was deficient in collagen type II as shown by specific staining.</p

Modified O’Driscoll score.

<p>Modified O’Driscoll score.</p

Osteochondral defect.

<p>In all animals, a 6×10 mm cylindrical osteochondral defect in the medial femoral condyles of both knee joints was surgically created with a cylindrical chisel (a). The osteochondral graft (left) from the defect was measured and then the biphasic scaffold (right) was cut to the respective length of the graft prior to implantation (b). The cut scaffold was then supplemented with the respective supplement and implanted into the condyle (c).</p

Mean mononuclear cell count.

<p>The mean mononuclear cell count of both treatment groups (BMAC and BMAC+PRP) in bone marrow (BM) and bone marrow aspiration concentrate (BMAC). In the BMAC group there was a 3.17 (<i>p = 0.021</i>) fold increase of mononuclear cells in BMAC compared to BM, and in the BMAC+PRP a 2.42 (<i>p = 0.006</i>) fold increase of the mononuclear cells.</p

Mean number of platelets.

<p>The mean number of platelets in whole blood and in PRP in both treatment groups. In both groups we measured a significant increase (<i>p<0.001 and p = 0.049</i>) of the platelet number in PRP compared to whole blood.</p

Representative histological slides.

<p>Representative histological slides (stained with toluidine-blue) of each of the investigated groups, a) scaffold only b) PRP c) BMAC d) BMAC with PRP. In the treatment groups the regenerated tissue stained positive for sGAGs.</p

Differentiation assays on day 21.

<p>The differentiation of the mesenchymal stem cells from the bone marrow aspiration concentrate into osteoblasts became apparent by an intense blue staining for alkaline phosphatase activity (A). The adipocytes became apparent by the accumulation of lipid-rich vacuoles stained with PPAR (B) Cells cultured in chondrogenic medium showed a positive stain for chondrocyte markers over an increasing proportion of the pellet from 10 to 21 days (C).</p

CBCT-volumetry of the tibial defect in axial images: BMC+CPG+PRP group: left: defect zone is identified (line), right: only areas with a density >2350 HU are opacified (white area), example of an animal with 80% bone defect consolidation.

<p>CBCT-volumetry of the tibial defect in axial images: BMC+CPG+PRP group: left: defect zone is identified (line), right: only areas with a density >2350 HU are opacified (white area), example of an animal with 80% bone defect consolidation.</p

Quantification of PDGF-bb in serum and PRP, p<0.001 PRP versus serum.

<p>Quantification of PDGF-bb in serum and PRP, p<0.001 PRP versus serum.</p

Correlations CPG group.

<p>**Correlation is significant for p<0,01 (twotailed).</p><p>*Correlation is significant for p<0,05 (twotailed).</p