Intra-Articular Atelocollagen Injection for the Treatment of Articular Cartilage Defects in Rabbit Model.

BACKGROUND: Atelocollagen is widely recognized as a biomaterial for regenerative medicine because of its good compatibility and low antigenicity. Injury of the outermost layer of articular cartilage, known as the lamina splendens, can lead to osteoarthritis (OA) and eventually full-thickness cartilage loss. The intra-articular injection of atelocollagen has been designed to restore the cartilage layer and cartilage defects in OA joints. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of atelocollagen as a cartilage supplement for joint defects. METHODS: In this study, we evaluated the therapeutic effects of atelocollagen in animals with cartilage defects. Femoral groove defects were artificially created in 12 male New Zealand white rabbits, which were treated with intra-articular injection of either atelocollagen (experimental) or normal saline (control). The results were observed 3, 6, 9, and 12 weeks following macroscopic and histological evaluations. RESULTS: At 3 weeks, cartilage tissue was restored in the experimental group, whereas the control group did not show signs of restoration. At 12 weeks, defects in both groups were filled with regenerated tissue, but the experimental group displayed a morphologically better appearance. Histologically, the regenerated tissue in the experimental group showed statistically significant improvement compared to the control group, with a structure similar to that of normal articular cartilage. CONCLUSION: The results showed that the intra-articular injection of atelocollagen enhanced cartilage regeneration following rabbit patellar groove defects. Therefore, intra-articular injection of atelocollagen can be used as an effective supplement for joint defects.

Atelocollagen Enhances the Healing of Rotator Cuff Tendon in Rabbit Model.

BACKGROUND: Failure of rotator cuff healing is a common complication despite the rapid development of surgical repair techniques for the torn rotator cuff. PURPOSE: To verify the effect of atelocollagen on tendon-to-bone healing in the rabbit supraspinatus tendon compared with conventional cuff repair. STUDY DESIGN: Controlled laboratory study. METHODS: A tear of the supraspinatus tendon was created and repaired in 46 New Zealand White rabbits. They were then randomly allocated into 2 groups (23 rabbits per group; 15 for histological and 8 for biomechanical test). In the experimental group, patch-type atelocollagen was implanted between bone and tendon during repair; in the control group, the torn tendon was repaired without atelocollagen. Each opposite shoulder served as a sham (tendon was exposed only). Histological evaluation was performed at 4, 8, and 12 weeks. Biomechanical tensile strength was tested 12 weeks after surgery. RESULTS: Histological evaluation scores of the experimental group (4.0 ± 1.0) were significantly superior to those of the control group (7.7 ± 2.7) at 12 weeks ( P = .005). The load to failure was significantly higher in the experimental group (51.4 ± 3.9 N) than in the control group (36.4 ± 5.9 N) ( P = .001). CONCLUSION: Histological and biomechanical studies demonstrated better results in the experimental group using atelocollagen in a rabbit model of the supraspinatus tendon tear. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Atelocollagen patch could be used in the cuff repair site to enhance healing.

Comparative study of the effectiveness and safety of porcine and bovine atelocollagen in Asian nasolabial fold correction.

Bovine-derived collagen has been used for soft-tissue augmentation since 1977. However, there are issues regarding the possibility of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Researchers discovered that the histologic structure of porcine-derived collagen is similar to that of human dermal collagen and that it is free from the risk of BSE. This study was conducted to establish the effectiveness and safety of porcine-derived collagen compared to bovine-derived collagen. The 73 patients included in this study were healthy volunteers who responded to an advertisement approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB). They had visited the authors' hospital complaining of wrinkles on their nasolabial fold. Either porcine (TheraFill®) or bovine atelocollagen was randomly injected into each side of their nasolabial folds, and the five-grade Wrinkle Severity Rating Scale (WSRS) was used to evaluate the wrinkles before and after the injection. The average age of the 73 study patients was 46.18 years. The WSRS scores of the porcine and bovine atelocollagen-injected patients were 2.90 ± 0.71 and 2.85 ± 0.72 at the baseline and 2.15 ± 0.70 and 2.21 ± 0.67 after 6 months. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups. Adverse effects of the porcine atelocollagen injection were seen in 12 patients, with the most common symptom being redness. This study showed that porcine atelocollagen can be used easily and without the need for the skin testing which is necessary before bovine atelocollagen injection. The efficacy of porcine atelocollagen is also similar to that of bovine atelocollagen.

Autologous chondrocyte implantation for rheumatoid arthritis of the knee: a case report.

INTRODUCTION: Although pharmacologic treatment remains the mainstay for treating rheumatoid arthritis, there is an increasing need for a method that biologically regenerates arthritic knee lesions as patient longevity continually increases. CASE PRESENTATION: We treated rheumatoid arthritis of the right knee in a 35-year-old female Korean patient using autologous chondrocyte implantation. Twelve months after surgery, the patient could walk without pain. CONCLUSION: Autologous chondrocyte implantation appears to be effective for treating rheumatoid arthritis of the knee.