Regenerative treatment in osteochondral lesions of the talus: autologous chondrocyte implantation versus one-step bone marrow derived cells transplantation

Objective The low regenerative potential of cartilage contributed to the development of different cell therapies aimed to improve the clinical outcome in young patients with Osteochondral Lesions of the Talus (OLT). This study is designed to assess the regenerative potential of autologous matrix-induced Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate (mBMAC) and matrix-induced Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation (mACI) evaluating, on a small number of osteochondral biopsies, the expression of some catabolic, inflammatory, and pain mediators. Design Twenty-two patients with OLT were analyzed in this study; 7 were treated with mACI and 15 with mBMAC. Informed consent was obtained from all the patients. Clinical assessments were performed pre-operatively and at 12, 24, and 36 months after surgery using the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS). Histology and immunohistochemistry were used to assess cartilage repair at 24 months. Data were analyzed using non-parametric Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney and Spearman tests. Results A remarkable improvement in AOFAS score was noticed for both treatments up to 36 months; however, patients treated with mACI reported the best AOFAS score. Various degrees of tissue remodeling were observed by histological analysis for both cell strategies. However, mBMAC treatment showed a higher expression of some fibrous and hypertrophic markers compared to mACI group. A mild positivity for nerve growth factor, as pain mediator, was noticed for both treatments.M Conclusions Our findings demonstrated the best histological and clinical results following mACI treatment since different fibrotic and hypertrophic features were evident in the mBMAC group at 24-month follow-up.

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Matrix-Induced Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation (MACI) Grafting for Osteochondral Lesions of the Talus

Foot & Ankle International ◽

10.1177/1071100720935110 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 41 (9) ◽

pp. 1099-1105 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Christopher G. Lenz ◽

Shu Tan ◽

Andrew L. Carey ◽

Kaenson Ang ◽

Timothy Schneider

Keyword(s):

Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation ◽

Treatment Method ◽

Osteochondral Lesions ◽

Osteochondral Defects ◽

Long Term Follow Up ◽

Chondrocyte Implantation ◽

The Mean ◽

Autologous Chondrocyte

Background: Matrix-induced autologous chondrocyte implantation (MACI) is an established treatment method for larger joints and has shown promising results in the ankle as well. We present a series of patients after ankle MACI with long-term follow-up of clinical and radiological outcomes. Methods: We present the follow-up of 15 patients who underwent MACI grafting from August 2003 to February 2006. The mean follow-up was 12.9 years. Clinical evaluations were conducted using the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS), Foot and Ankle Activity Measurement (FAAM), and visual analog scale (VAS) scoring systems and the magnetic resonance observation of cartilage repair tissue (MOCART) scoring system for radiological evaluation. Results: The mean size of the talar osteochondral defects was 204 mm2. We found a significant improvement in mean AOFAS score from 60 preoperatively to a mean of 84 at 12 years postoperatively. The 12-year FAAM score for Activities of Daily Living was 89% (range, 62%-99%). The mean 12-year MOCART score was 65 points (range, 30-100 points) with significant agreement between assessors ( P < .001). However, the MOCART scores did not correlate with the FAAM scores ( P = .86). Conclusion: Considering our long-term follow-up, we believe MACI is a reliable treatment method for talar osteochondral defects providing lasting pain relief and satisfying clinical results. However, with an equivalent outcome, but at higher costs, and the requirement for 2 operative procedures, the results do not seem to be superior to other established methods. The clinical utility of the MOCART score requires further scrutiny since we were not able to show any correlation between the score and clinical outcome. Level of Evidence: Level IV, case series.

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High-Density Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation as Treatment for Ankle Osteochondral Defects

Cartilage ◽

10.1177/1947603519835898 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 194760351983589 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Juan Manuel López-Alcorocho ◽

Isabel Guillén-Vicente ◽

Elena Rodríguez-Iñigo ◽

Ramón Navarro ◽

Rosa Caballero-Santos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cartilage Repair ◽

Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation ◽

Histological Study ◽

High Density ◽

Osteochondral Lesions ◽

Type I ◽

Cartilage Lesions ◽

Chondrocyte Implantation ◽

Autologous Chondrocyte

Purpose Two-year follow-up to assess efficacy and safety of high-density autologous chondrocyte implantation (HD-ACI) in patients with cartilage lesions in the ankle. Design Twenty-four consecutive patients with International Cartilage repair Society (ICRS) grade 3-4 cartilage lesions of the ankle were included. Five million chondrocytes per cm2 of lesion were implanted using a type I/III collagen membrane as a carrier and treatment effectiveness was assessed by evaluating pain with the visual analogue scale (VAS) and American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle-hindfoot score at baseline, 12-month, and 24-month follow-up, together with dorsal and plantar flexion. Magnetic resonance observation for cartilage repair tissue (MOCART) score was used to evaluate cartilage healing. Histological study was possible in 5 cases. Results Patients’ median age was 31 years (range 18-55 years). Median VAS score was 8 (range 5-10) at baseline, 1.5 (range 0-8) at 12-month follow-up, and 2 (rang e0-5) at 24-month follow-up ( P < 0.001). Median AOFAS score was 39.5 (range 29-48) at baseline, 90 (range 38-100) at 12-month follow-up, and 90 (range 40-100) at 24-month follow-up ( P < 0.001). Complete dorsal flexion significantly increased at 12 months (16/24, 66.7%) and 24 months (17/24, 70.8%) with regard to baseline (13/24, 54.2%) ( P = 0.002). MOCART at 12- and 24-month follow-ups were 73.71 ± 15.99 and 72.33 ± 16.21. Histological study confirmed that neosynthetized tissue was cartilage with hyaline extracellular matrix and numerous viable chondrocytes. Conclusion HD-ACI is a safe and effective technique to treat osteochondral lesions in the talus, providing good clinical and histological results at short- and mid-term follow-ups.

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