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To investigate the effectiveness of autologous culture-expanded bone marrow mesenchymal cell transplantation for repairing articular cartilage defects, we transplanted autologous culture-expanded bone marrow mesenchymal cells into nine full-thickness articular cartilage defects of the patello-femoral joints (including two kissing lesions) in the knees of three patients, a 31 year-old female, a 44 year-old male and a 45 year-old male. Three weeks before transplantation, bone marrow blood was aspirated from the iliac crest. Adherent cells were cultured with media containing autologous serum. Single-passaged cells were collected, embedded in a collagen solution (5 x 10(6) cells/ml), placed on a collagen sheet, gelated, transplanted into the defect and covered with autologous periosteum or synovium. Six months after transplantation, the patients' clinical symptoms had improved and the improvements have been maintained over the follow-up periods (17-27 months). Histology of the first patient 12 months after the transplantation revealed that the defect had been repaired with the fibrocartilaginous tissue. Magnetic resonance imaging of the second patient 1 year after transplantation revealed complete coverage of the defect, but we were unable to determine whether or not the material that covered the defects was hyaline cartilage. Autologous bone marrow mesenchymal cells transplantation may be an effective approach to promote the repair of articular cartilage defects., (2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd)

Background and purpose Osteochondral defects have a limited capacity for repair. We therefore investigated the effects of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signal blockade by etanercept (human recombinant soluble TNF receptor) on the repair of osteochondral defects in rabbit knees. Material and methods Osteochondral defects (5 mm in diameter) were created in the femoral patellar groove in rabbits. Soon after the procedure, a first subcutaneous injection of etanercept was performed. This single injection or, alternatively, 4 injections in total (twice a week for 2 weeks) were given. Each of these 2 groups was divided further into 3 subgroups: a low-dose group (0.05 μg/kg), an intermediate-dose group (0.4 μ g/kg), and a high-dose group (1.6 μ g /kg) with 19 rabbits in each. As a control, 19 rabbits were injected with water alone. The rabbits in each subgroup were killed 4 weeks (6 rabbits), 8 weeks (6 rabbits), or 24 weeks (7 rabbits) after surgery and repair was assessed histologically. Results Histological examination revealed that the natural process of repair of the osteochondral defects was promoted by 4 subcutaneous injections of intermediate-dose etanercept and by 1 or 4 injections of high-dose etanercept at the various time points examined postoperatively (4, 8, and 24 weeks). Western blot showed that rabbit TNFα had a high affinity for etanercept. Interpretation Blocking of TNF by etanercept enabled repair of osteochondral defects in rabbit knee. Anti-TNF therapy could be a strategy for the use of tissue engineering for bone and cartilage repair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]