Deploying Indocyanine Green Fluorescence-Guided Navigation System in Precise Laparoscopic Resection of Pediatric Hepatoblastoma.

Background: Hepatoblastoma (HB) is the most common form of liver cancer in children. To date, complete tumor resection is still the gold standard for treating HB. Indocyanine green (ICG) has been identified as a sensitive adjunct that is highly effective in the identification and surgical management of local and metastatic HB. It has thus becomes an increasingly popular choice among surgeons in HB resection surgeries that are fluorescence-guided. However, laparotomy remains the preferred choice in most cases since the applications and limitations of fluorescence-guided laparoscopic surgery in treating HB remain unclear. In this study, the characteristics and outcomes of laparoscopic HB resections that were guided by intraoperative ICG fluorescent imaging were investigated. Methods: Seven HB patients underwent ICG-guided laparoscopic HB resection surgery from August 2019 to December 2021. ICG was intravenously administered to the patients at a dosage of 0.5 mg/kg 48 h prior to the scheduled operation. During operation, tumor localization and resection boundary were guided by fluorescence visualization. The data on surgical and clinical features were collected retrospectively. Results: The resection area and tumor boundary could be clearly viewed in real-time under the ICG fluorescence imaging navigation system during operation, except for one patient who had received interventional chemoembolization before surgery. The image produced by laparoscopic fluorescence navigation was clear since it was not affected by ambient light. All tumors were completely resected as confirmed by negative margins for HB during postoperative pathological examination. No residual or recurrence were also found through computed tomography during follow-up visits from 9 to 37 months. Conclusions: ICG fluorescence-guided laparoscopic surgery is safe and effective in treating HB due to its ability to provide clear information on tumor localization and delineate tumor margins in real-time.

Identification of hub genes and construction of prognostic nomogram for patients with Wilms tumors.

Background: In children, Wilms' tumors are the most common urological cancer with unsatisfactory prognosis, but few molecular prognostic markers have been discovered for it. With the rapid development of high-throughput quantitative proteomic and transcriptomic approaches, the molecular mechanisms of various cancers have been comprehensively explored. This study aimed to uncover the molecular mechanisms underlying Wilms tumor and build predictive models by use of microarray and RNA-seq data. Methods: Gene expression datasets were downloaded from Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments (TARGET) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. Bioinformatics methods wereutilized to identified hub genes, and these hub genes were validated by experiment. Nomogram predicting OS was developed using genetic risk score model and clinicopathological variables. Results: CDC20, BUB1 and CCNB2 were highly expressed in tumor tissues and able to affect cell proliferation and the cell cycle of SK-NEP-1 cells. This may reveal molecular biology features and a new therapeutic target of Wilms tumour.7 genes were selected as prognostic genes after univariate, Lasso, and multivariate Cox regression analyses and had good accuracy, a prognostic nomogram combined gene model with clinical factors was completed with high accuracy. Conclusions: The current study discovered CDC20,BUB1 and CCNB2 as hub-genes associated with Wilms tumor, providing references to understand the pathogenesis and be considered a novel candidate to target therapy and construct novel nomogram, incorporating both clinical risk factors and gene model, could be appropriately applied in preoperative individualized prediction of malignancy in patients with Wilms tumor.

Improved Outcomes with Induction Chemotherapy Combined with Arsenic Trioxide in Stage 4 Neuroblastoma: A Case Series.

Objective: The apoptotic and cytotoxic effects of arsenic trioxide (ATO) makes it a potentially suitable agent for the treatment of patients with neuroblastoma with poor prognosis; therefore, we try to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of ATO combined with reinduction/induction chemotherapy in children with recurrent/refractory or newly diagnosed stage 4 neuroblastoma. Methods: Retrospective analysis was performed on seven pediatric patients with recurrent /refractory or newly diagnosed stage 4 neuroblastoma treated with traditional reinduction/induction chemotherapy combined with ATO. Results: A total of 7 patients were treated synchronously with ATO and chemotherapy for up to nine courses; all patients received conventional chemotherapy plus a 0.16 mg/kg/day dose of intravenous ATO during reinduction/induction chemotherapy. Treatment was effective in five patients and ineffective in the other two patients. The overall response rate was 71.43% (5 of 7). The side effects of the ATO combination were minor, whereby only treatment in one patient was terminated at the sixth course due to a prolonged QT interval (0.51 s), which returned to normal after symptomatic treatment. Conclusions: ATO can be safely and effectively combined with chemotherapy drugs as a potential alternative means of treatment for high-risk stage 4 neuroblastoma, and we have observed that ATO can restore the sensitivity of chemotherapy in some patients who were resistant to previous chemotherapy. Further investigations and clinical data are required to confirm these observations.

Two-stage laparoscopic resection of giant hepatoblastoma in infants combined with liver partial partition and artery ligation.

PURPOSE: Laparoscopic resection of giant hepatoblastoma (HB) in children has long been a subject of controversy. Here, a new procedure of two-stage laparoscopic resection of giant HB in infants was firstly reported and the feasibility was discussed. METHODS: The clinical data of three infants with HB were retrospectively reviewed, all of which received 3-5 cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Stage 1 laparoscopic selective hepatic artery ligation and liver partial partition were performed. Stage 2 laparoscopic hepatectomy was performed 2 weeks later. RESULTS: The results demonstrated that (1) the tumors shrank considerably in size and had relatively clear boundaries after neoadjuvant chemotherapy; (2) after stage 1 surgery, the tumor volume further reduced, while the intratumoral necrosis expanded; (3) 2 weeks later, stage 2 laparoscopic hepatectomy was performed successfully; (4) none of the cases had intraoperative complications such as tumor rupture, air embolism, hemorrhage, biliary fistula, or liver failure, and there was no recurrence or metastasis during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Two-stage laparoscopic hepatectomy associating selective hepatic artery ligation and liver partial partition for HB in infants has the benefits of small invasiveness, fast recovery, improved safety, and high feasibility. However, more cases and longer follow-up are needed to assess its long-term efficacy.

CircRNA CDR1as promotes hepatoblastoma proliferation and stemness by acting as a miR-7-5p sponge to upregulate KLF4 expression.

Hepatoblastoma (HB) is a malignant embryonal tumor of the liver that consists of heterogenous populations of stem/progenitor cells. Although circular RNAs (circRNAs) play an essential role in tumor development, the effects of circRNA on the proliferation of HB cells, especially cancer stem cells (CSCs), remain unclear. We found that the circRNA, CDR1as, was highly expressed in CSC-enriched populations of HB cell lines. Results from flow cytometric and sphere-forming assays revealed that CDR1as knockdown in HB cell lines decreased the proportion of stem cells. The Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, colony formation experiments, and EdU assay revealed that CDR1as knockdown in HB cell lines decreased cell growth and the colony-forming abilities. Biotin-coupled probe pull-down assays and biotin-coupled microRNA capture were conducted to evaluate the interaction between CDR1as and miR-7-5p. Dual-luciferase reporter assays demonstrated that Kruppel-like factor 4 (KLF4), expression of which is highly correlated with cancer stemness, was a target of miR-7-5p. Overall, the knockdown of CDR1as significantly inhibited the proliferation and stemness of HB cells by reducing the sponge activity on miR-7-5p and subsequently suppressing the interaction between miR-7-5p and KLF4. Results from this study suggest that CDR1as is an oncogene that effects the proliferation and stemness of HBs.

Effective surgical treatment of life-threatening huge vascular anomalies associated with thrombocytopenia and coagulopathy in infants unresponsive to drug therapy.

BACKGROUND: Systemic drug therapy is generally recommended for infant huge vascular anomalies associated with thrombocytopenia and coagulopathy, but some patients are not suitable due to drug unresponsiveness or life threatening conditions before the drug works, who will need to receive surgical treatment. This study retrospectively analyzed the clinical features, imaging features, and surgical outcomes of these patients. METHODS: The clinical data of 4 infants with huge vascular anomalies (2 vein malformations (VMs) and 2 kaposiform hemangioendothelioma (KHE)) associated with thrombocytopenia and coagulopathy treated from June 2016 to December 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients received glucocorticoids, propranolol, vincristine or sirolimus treatment before admission, but the treatment was ineffective. Skin petechia, thrombocytopenia and coagulopathy were present at the time of admission. CT scanning was performed before operation. The patient's general clinical data, hematological examination results, operation time, surgical bleeding volume, blood transfusion volume and surgical complications were collected for analysis. The patients were followed up for 10-26 months. RESULTS: CT scanning results of 2 patients showed special CT features without detectable enhancement within the lesion after CT enhanced scanning and multiple phleboliths formation. Four patients underwent surgical treatment successfully. Two patients underwent complete resection of the lesion, and 2 underwent cytoreductive surgery. Preoperative clinical symptoms such as skin petechia, thrombocytopenia and coagulopathy were normal at 1 week after surgery. Postoperative pathological results showed 2 cases of KHE and 2 cases of VMs. All patients were discharged from hospital without physical dysfunction, recurrence, or death. CONCLUSIONS: Timely and appropriate surgical intervention can achieve satisfactory results for infants with huge VMs and KHE who were unresponsive to drug therapy or suffering from life-threatening occasion before the drug become effective.

Influence of Recipient Site on the Function and Survival of Fat Grafts.

BACKGROUND: Autologous fat grafting has become an increasingly common procedure for soft tissue augmentation throughout the body. However, the long-term outcome is always unpredictable because of inconsistent graft survival. Based on the "law of use and disuse," we speculate that the volume loss of fat grafts will occur when transferred into a site where there is less fat. The purpose of this study is to investigate the cause of high resorption rate from the perspective of fat function after transplantation. METHODS: Adipose aspirates obtained from routine liposuction were injected into the dorsal site of athymic mice, which have no subcutaneous fat layer. The fat grafts were explanted at days 7, 15, and 30 after transplantation. Changes in fat function were evaluated by measuring the adipocyte size and the expression level of adipose differentiation-related protein. RESULTS: After grafting, adipose tissue was replaced by fibrosis, inflammation, and vacuolar tissues gradually over time. The size of fat cells decreased sharply from day 0 to day 7, increased at day 15, and further declined at day 30. Adipose differentiation-related protein expression experienced a dramatic increase at day 7 and then continuously decreased until day 30. CONCLUSIONS: Assuming that the extrinsic factors influencing fat function and distribution remain stable, capabilities of the redistributed fat to handle free fatty acid and store lipid substance are reduced, leading to substantial tissue atrophy and volume decline after grafting.

In Vitro and In Vivo Osteogenesis of Human Orbicularis Oculi Muscle-Derived Stem Cells.

BACKGROUND: Cell-based therapies for treating bone defects require a source of stem cells with osteogenic potential. There is evidence from pathologic ossification within muscles that human skeletal muscles contain osteogenic progenitor cells. However, muscle samples are usually acquired through a traumatic biopsy procedure which causes pain and morbidity to the donor. Herein, we identified a new alternative source of skeletal muscle stem cells (SMSCs) without conferring morbidity to donors. METHODS: Adherent cells isolated from human orbicularis oculi muscle (OOM) fragments, which are currently discarded during ophthalmic cosmetic surgeries, were obtained using a two-step plating method. The cell growth kinetics, immunophenotype and capabilities of in vitro multilineage differentiation were evaluated respectively. Moreover, the osteogenically-induced cells were transduced with GFP gene, loaded onto the porous ß-tricalcium phosphate (ß-TCP) bioceramics, and transplanted into the subcutaneous site of athymic mice. Ectopic bone formation was assessed and the cell fate in vivo was detected. RESULTS: OOM-derived cells were fibroblastic in shape, clonogenic in growth, and displayed phenotypic and behavioral characteristics similar to SMSCs. In particular, these cells could be induced into osteoblasts in vitro evidenced by the extracellular matrix calcification and enhanced alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and osteocalcin (OCN) production. New bone formation was found in the cell-loaded bioceramics 6 weeks after implantation. By using the GFP-labeling technique, these muscle cells were detected to participate in the process of ectopic osteogenesis in vivo. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that human OOM tissue is a valuable and noninvasive resource for osteoprogenitor cells to be used in bone repair and regeneration.

miRNA-101 Suppresses Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition by Targeting HMGA2 in Pancreatic Cancer Cells.

miR-101 is an outstanding tumor suppressor in various cancers, while its role in pancreatic cancer (PC) is still unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of miR-101 in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and its clinical relevance in PC. Our data showed that the miR-101 expression was significantly decreased in human PC tissues, compared to non-tumor counterparts (p<0.05), which was reversely correlated to clinical characteristics, including lymph node metastasis, more venous infiltration, higher expression of CA19-9 and TNM stage (p<0.05). Low miR-101 expression was also confirmed to be associated with a poorer overall survival rate in PC patients (p<0.05). We identified high-mobility group AT-hook 2 (HMGA2) gene as a putative target of miR-101 in PC by bioinformatics analysis, dual luciferase activity and western blot assay, and found that miR-101 could specifically target the HMGA2 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) (p<0.05). Knockdown of HMGA2 reversed EMT resembling that of miR-101 over-expression. An inverse correlation between miR-101 and HMGA2 was observed in patients with PC (p<0.05). Taken together, our findings speculated that miR-101 might act as an inhibiting factor in EMT process in PC and up-regulation of miR-101 might be considered as a potentially key molecular treatment strategy for PC patients.

Comparative Analysis of Modified Laparoscopic Swenson and Laparoscopic Soave Procedure for Short-Segment Hirschsprung Disease in Children.

INTRODUCTION: This clinical analysis compared the characteristics and outcomes of modified laparoscopic Swenson (MLSw) and laparoscopic Soave (LS) procedures for short-segment Hirschsprung disease (HD) in children. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This clinical analysis involved a retrospective series of 42 pediatric patients with HD who underwent surgery from March 2007 to July 2012. Patients were divided into two groups: the LS group (n = 15) and the MLSw group (n = 27). Preoperative, operative, and postoperative data were collected, through patient follow-up periods ranging from 12 to 48 months, to compare perioperative/operative characteristics, postoperative complications, and outcomes between the two groups. Major measurements were analyzed statistically. RESULTS: On average, the patients in the LS group had a longer operating time (mean ± standard deviation, 199 ± 60 minutes) than those in the MLSw group (148 ± 23 minutes) (p < 0.05). Blood loss was significantly less in the MLSw group (10 ± 7 mL) than in the LS group (26 ± 14 mL) (p < 0.05). There was no difference in feeding time between the two groups (p > 0.05). The MLSw group was discharged after a shorter hospitalization time (8 ± 2 days) than the LS group (12 ± 4 days) (p < 0.05). The MLSw group had lower incidences of soiling (5, 18.5% vs. 7, 46.7%) and constipation (1, 3.7% vs. 3, 20%) than the LS group in the early postoperative period, but no difference was found between the two groups in the rate of complications during the late postoperative period. CONCLUSIONS: The MLSw procedure did not increase the risk of injury to vital intrapelvic structures or the incidence of complications in surgery for short-segment HD. The early postoperative outcome was much better in the MLSw group than in the LS group, but long-term outcomes were similar. However, the MLSw procedure was simpler, resulting in reduced operating time and less intraoperative blood loss.

Proteomic analysis profile of engineered articular cartilage with chondrogenic differentiated adipose tissue-derived stem cells loaded polyglycolic acid mesh for weight-bearing area defect repair.

The present study was designed to investigate the possibility of full-thickness defects repair in porcine articular cartilage (AC) weight-bearing area using chondrogenic differentiated autologous adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) with a follow-up of 3 and 6 months, which is successive to our previous study on nonweight-bearing area. The isolated ASCs were seeded onto the phosphoglycerate/polylactic acid (PGA/PLA) with chondrogenic induction in vitro for 2 weeks as the experimental group prior to implantation in porcine AC defects (8 mm in diameter, deep to subchondral bone), with PGA/PLA only as control. With follow-up time being 3 and 6 months, both neo-cartilages of postimplantation integrated well with the neighboring normal cartilage and subchondral bone histologically in experimental group, whereas only fibrous tissue in control group. Immunohistochemical and toluidine blue staining confirmed similar distribution of COL II and glycosaminoglycan in the regenerated cartilage to the native one. A vivid remolding process with repair time was also witnessed in the neo-cartilage as the compressive modulus significantly increased from 70% of the normal cartilage at 3 months to nearly 90% at 6 months, which is similar to our former research. Nevertheless, differences of the regenerated cartilages still could be detected from the native one. Meanwhile, the exact mechanism involved in chondrogenic differentiation from ASCs seeded on PGA/PLA is still unknown. Therefore, proteome is resorted leading to 43 proteins differentially identified from 20 chosen two-dimensional spots, which do help us further our research on some committed factors. In conclusion, the comparison via proteome provided a thorough understanding of mechanisms implicating ASC differentiation toward chondrocytes, which is further substantiated by the present study as a perfect supplement to the former one in nonweight-bearing area.

Overexpression of miR-122 promotes the hepatic differentiation and maturation of mouse ESCs through a miR-122/FoxA1/HNF4a-positive feedback loop.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: microRNA-122 is the only identified liver-specific miRNA and plays a crucial role in liver development, maintenance of hepatic homeostasis as well as tumourigenesis. In our previous differentiation of ESCs into hepatocytes, microRNA-122 (miR-122) was expressed at a relatively low level. Here, we aim to elucidate the effect and underlying mechanisms of miR-122 during differentiation of ESCs into hepatocytes. METHODS: Mouse ESCs were initially induced towards HPCs by activin A, FGF-4 and sodium butyrate and were subsequently transfected with a recombinant adenovirus expressing vector pAV.Ex1d-CMV>miR-122/IRES/eGFP 9 days after induction. Cells were analysed by real-time PCR, immunofluorescence, flow cytometry, microscopy and functional assays. Furthermore, microarray analysis was performed. RESULTS: We demonstrated that overexpression of miR-122 could effectively promote hepatic differentiation and maturation, as assessed by morphological and functional tests. The microarray analysis revealed that 323 genes were down-regulated, whereas 59 were up-regulated. Particularly, two liver-specific transcription factors, FoxA1 and HNF4a, were significantly up-regulated. Moreover, the expression of E-cadherin was dramatically increased and the proliferation of HPCs was suppressed, whereas knockdown of FoxA1 reduced E-cadherin expression and increased the proliferation of HPCs. In addition, the expression levels of FoxA1, HNF4a and E-cadherin in time-course transfection experiments with miR-122 were not significantly increased except in cells in which transfection with miR-122 occurred 9 days after induction. CONCLUSION: Overexpression of miR-122 at an appropriate stage could promote hepatic differentiation and maturation by regulating the balance between proliferation and differentiation, as well as the balance between EMT and MET, partially through a miR-122/FoxA1/HNF4a-positive feedback loop.

[The clinic research of the modified laparoscopic splenectomy for massive splenomegaly in the treatment of children with hematologic diseases].

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the experience and characteristics of the modified laparoscopic splenectomy for massive splenomegaly in the treatment of children with hematologic disease. METHODS: The clinical data of 30 cases of laparoscopic splenectomy for massive splenomegaly of children with hematologic disease from March 2007 to December 2011 was analyzed retrospectively. There were 18 male and 12 female patients, aging from 2 to 14 years. Primary disease included mediterranean anemia (17 cases), hereditary spherocytosis (4 cases) and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP, 9 cases). Dissection started with cutting off the gastrosplenic ligaments and lesser sac to fully reveal the splenic hilum, the splenic artery was clamped twice with 10 mm tiatanum clamp. When most of blood stored in the spleen back to heart through the veins and the splenic volume had already decreased, the splenic vein was ligated with 10 mm titanium clip and cut with ligsure and splenic pedicle separated. The Surgery and complication were recorded. For 1 week after surgery, the hemoglobin and platelet counts were reviewed. RESULTS: Twenty-six cases were performed successfully, and 4 cases were converted to open procedure. Of the 4 cases, 2 cases was obesity because of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, 1 case was ß thalassaemia combined severe liver enlargement, and 1 case was after partial splenic embolization. In cases of laparoscopic splenectomy, operation time was 110 to 130 minutes, with an average of 120 minutes, and blood loss during operation was 35 to 180 ml, with an average of 45 ml. Compared with pre-operation, the hemoglobin of mediterranean anemia and hereditary spherocytosis patients were (92 ± 8) g/L, and blood platelet count of ITP patients was (127 ± 20)×10(9)/L, and they increased obviously at 1 week after operation (t = 4.175 and 8.253, both P = 0.000). CONCLUSION: The modified surgical method make the laparoscopic splenectomy for massive splenomegaly in many children with hematologic diseases possible, which was thought to be impossible in the past.

A modified laparoscopic splenectomy for massive splenomegaly in children with hematological disorder: a single institute retrospective clinical research.

PURPOSE: With the optimal acceptance of its clinical advantages, laparoscopic splenectomy (LS) emerged as a gold standard procedure as compared with open splenectomy (OS). However, it is still controversial and even counted as contraindication for massive splenomegaly. Here, we aim to summarize the experiences, characteristics and trends of modified LS for massive splenomegaly in children with hematological disorders. METHODS: Retrospective series of 57 pediatric patients with massive splenomegaly who underwent splenectomy from March 2007 to December 2011 were designated for this clinical analysis. The main outcome measures were dealt by statistics. For 30 cases of LS, we strictly adhered to the principle of using only three trocars to operate and initial ligation of the splenic artery, followed by retrieving the piecemeal of spleen through an accessory incision of 2-3 cm at 12 mm trocar port site. RESULTS: Of the 57 pediatric patients, 27 underwent OS and 30 underwent LS, respectively. Despite the operative time being shorter for OS than for LS (P < 0.001), the blood loss was lower in LS than in OS (P < 0.001); the time required for oral intake as well as duration of hospital stay was lower in LS than in OS (P < 0.001). Post-operatively, 7 (25.9 %) complications occurred in OS and 3 (10 %) in LS. The conversion rate of LS to OS was 13.33 % in four cases till 2009. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the conflicting reports regarding the safety of LS for massive splenomegaly, we demonstrated that our modified laparoscopic splenectomy in the treatment of children with massive splenomegaly in hematological diseases seemed to achieve the fundamental goal of less invasion; it was safe and feasible.

Selection of hepatocyte-like cells from mouse differentiated embryonic stem cells and application in therapeutic liver repopulation.

UNLABELLED: BACKGROUD/AIM: Because of the oncogenic risk, it is important to gain the homogeneous and purified cells from differentiated ESCs before transplantation. Here, we aim to select hepatocyte-like cells from differentiated ESCs, and investigate their growth, differentiation and neoplastic formation after intrahepatic transplantation. METHODS: Mouse ESCs were primarily induced by Dexamethesone, FGF-4 and HGF sequentially, then placed to a conditioning selection media consisting of 5% cholestatic sera and cultivated for 2 wks. After labeled by CFDA-SE, the selected cells were transplanted into mouse liver in therapeutic liver repopulation models. RESULTS: In the early stage of screening cultivation, most cells were suffered from apoptosis or even death. 1w later, some hepatocyte-like colony-forming units were observed, then the selected cells could grow and tend to be more mature, as assessed by morphological and functional tests. After intrahepatic transplantation, the labeled cells could proliferate and expressed albumin. Moreover, teratoma didn't form over 3 months. CONCLUSION: Our conditioning selection media could not only effectively select hepatocyte-like cells from differentiated ESCs, but further promote their growth and differentiation as well. After intrahepatic transplantation in therapeutic liver repopulation models, the selected cells could grow, differentiate and keep partial hepatic function. In particular, the transplantation was safe.

Repair of articular cartilage defect in non-weight bearing areas using adipose derived stem cells loaded polyglycolic acid mesh.

The current study was designed to observe chondrogenic differentiation of adipose derived stem cells (ASCs) on fibrous polyglycolic acid (PGA) scaffold stabilized with polylactic acid (PLA), and to further explore the feasibility of using the resulting cell/scaffold constructs to repair full thickness articular cartilage defects in non-weight bearing area in porcine model within a follow-up of 6 months. Autologous ASCs isolated from subcutaneous fat were expanded and seeded on the scaffold to fabricate ASCs/PGA constructs. Chondrogenic differentiation of ASCs in the constructs under chondrogenic induction was monitored with time by measuring the expression of collagen type II (COL II) and glycosaminoglycan (GAG). The constructs after being in vitro induced for 2 weeks were implanted to repair full thickness articular cartilage defects (8mm in diameter, deep to subchondral bone) in femur trochlea (the experimental group), while scaffold alone was implanted to serve as the control. Histologically, the generated neo-cartilage integrated well with its surrounding normal cartilage and subchondral bone in the defects of experimental group at 3 months post-implantation, whereas only fibrous tissue was filled in the defects of control group. Immunohistochemical and toluidine blue staining confirmed the similar distribution of COL II and GAG in the regenerated cartilage as the normal one. A vivid remolding process with post-operation time was also witnessed in the neo-cartilage as its compressive moduli increased significantly from 50.55% of the normal cartilage at 3 months to 88.05% at 6 months. The successful repair thus substantiates the potentiality of using chondrogenic induced ASCs and PGA/PLA scaffold for cartilage regeneration.