Intra-articular delivery of chondroitin sulfate for the treatment of joint defects in rabbit model

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is considered as a possible candidate for the treatment of joint defect. This study is to evaluate the efficacy of intra-articular injection of CS carried by hydrogel in the treatment of chondral defects in adult rabbit models. Inclusion of CS (0-50 microg/ml) in in vitro ch...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Molecular Histology 2007-10, Vol.38 (5), p.483-489
Main Authors: Hui, James H, Chan, Shzu-Wei, Li, Jun, Goh, James C H, Li, Li, Ren, X F, Lee, Eng Hin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal models
Animals
Biocompatibility
Biocompatible Materials - administration & dosage
Biocompatible Materials - pharmacokinetics
Biocompatible Materials - pharmacology
Bone (subchondral)
Cartilage
Cartilage - drug effects
Cartilage - injuries
Cartilage - physiopathology
Cell culture
Cell proliferation
Cell Proliferation - drug effects
Cells, Cultured
Chondrocytes
Chondrocytes - cytology
Chondrocytes - drug effects
Chondroitin sulfate
Chondroitin Sulfates - administration & dosage
Chondroitin Sulfates - pharmacokinetics
Chondroitin Sulfates - pharmacology
Drug Delivery Systems - methods
Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate
Hydrogels
Injections, Intra-Articular
Joints - drug effects
Joints - injuries
Joints - physiopathology
Knee
Models, Animal
Rabbits
Wound Healing - drug effects
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is considered as a possible candidate for the treatment of joint defect. This study is to evaluate the efficacy of intra-articular injection of CS carried by hydrogel in the treatment of chondral defects in adult rabbit models. Inclusion of CS (0-50 microg/ml) in in vitro chondrocyte culture exerts a dose-dependent increase in cell proliferation. To select for optimal carrier for in vivo study, the release kinetic of CS embedded in five types of hydrogel was studied using fluorescence technique and their biocompatibilities in vivo were investigated by injecting the CS-hydrogel into rabbit knees. alpha-CD-EG 4400 hydrogel was chosen as the carrier based on progressively released CS from the hydrogel, with 80% released by in one week while the remaining 20% was retained for 30 days. In vivo studies showed high biocompatibility of CS-hydrogel. To evaluate the efficacy of CS in the treatment of cartilage injury, chondral defects were created in femoral medial condyle (punch diameter 2.7 mm) or trochlea (punch diameter 3.5 mm) of the rabbits without damaging subchondral bone. CS (100 mg/ml) in 0.5 ml alpha-CD-EG 4400 hydrogel was then injected into the knee joint. Hydrogel and saline served as controls. On day 50 the chondral defect in the saline group showed no signs of healing and defect treated with hydrogel alone was covered with a thin and slightly irregular layer of fibrous tissue. The CS-hydrogel group showed a thicker layer composed of both hyaline and fibrocartilage. The modulus of elasticity was the highest in the CS-hydrogel group and lowest in the group injected with saline only. Our results suggest that intra-articular delivery of CS by alpha-CD-EG 4400 improved the biomechanical and histological properties of the repaired cartilage. It may be an effective treatment for cartilage injury.
ISSN:1567-2379
1567-2387
1573-6865
DOI:10.1007/s10735-007-9120-7