Platelet-rich Plasma and Cartilage Integration

Biological repair of damaged cartilage is limited by the inability of repair tissue to integrate with host tissue. The study hypothesis is that platelet-rich plasma (PRP) will enhance the integration of bio-engineered cartilage with native cartilage due to increased matrix accumulation, and that chondrocytes migrate out of bio-engineered cartilage, while maintaining their chondrogenic phenotype. Bio-engineered cartilage were either soaked in PRP or Hamâ s F12 (control) and then implanted into the core of a native osteochondral explant and cultured for 2-weeks. Integration was evaluated histologically and biomechanically. The mechanisms of integration were evaluated by biochemistry, RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry and cell migration assays. PRP-soaked constructs integrated with native explants with significantly greater mechanical strength than controls with increased matrix accumulation at the integration zone. Chondrocytes migrated out of PRP-soaked bio-engineered constructs along fibres. The improved integration may be due in part to the increased matrix accumulation and cell migration at the interface.M.Sc