Hyalograft C: hyaluronan-based scaffolds in tissue-engineered cartilage.

Articular cartilage injuries have poor reparative capability and, if left untreated, may progress to osteo-arthritis. Unsatisfactory results with conventional treatment methods have prompted the development of innovative solutions including the use of cell transplantations, with or without a supporting scaffold. Tissue engineering combines cells, scaffolds and bio-active factors, which represents one of the most promising approaches for the restoration of damaged tissues.

Maturation of tissue engineered cartilage implanted in injured and osteoarthritic human knees.

The regeneration of damaged organs requires that engineered tissues mature when implanted at sites of injury or disease. We have used new analytic techniques to determine the extent of tissue regeneration after treatment of knee injury patients with a novel cartilage tissue engineering therapy and the effect of pre-existing osteoarthritis on the regeneration process. We treated 23 patients, with a mean age of 35.

Pharmacokinetic behaviour of ACP gel, an autocrosslinked hyaluronan derivative, after intraperitoneal administration.

Autocrosslinked polysaccharide (ACP) gel is a fully biocompatible cross-linked derivative of hyaluronic acid, which has prolonged in vivo residence time and improved mechanical properties with respect to native hyaluronan for use in various surgical applications. The objective of this study was to assess the pharmacokinetic behaviour of ACP gel in dogs after intraperitoneal administration. Seven beagle dogs received intraperitoneal injections of tritium-labelled ACP gel.

Hyaluronan-based scaffolds (Hyalograft C) in the treatment of knee cartilage defects: preliminary clinical findings.

Hyalograft C is an innovative tissue-engineering approach for the treatment of knee cartilage defects involving the implantation of laboratory expanded autologous chondrocytes grown on a three-dimensional hyaluronan-based scaffold. This technique has recently been introduced into clinical practice, with more than 600 patients treated so far. Because no periosteal coverage is required to keep the graft in place, surgical time and morbidity are reduced, and handling of the graft is much simpler than currently available autologous chondrocyte implantation techniques.

Aortic intimal thickening and myosin isoform expression in hyperthyroid rabbits.

The potential effect of thyroid hormones on the expression of cytoskeletal and cytocontractile proteins of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) was examined by a panel of monoclonal antibodies and immunocytochemical procedures. L-Thyroxine was administered to adult New Zealand White rabbits for as long as 26 days, and the aortic SMC composition was studied at days 1, 2, 7, 15, and 26 from the beginning of hormonal treatment. A diffuse intimal thickening of the aorta became visible after 7 days of thyroxine administration.