Abstract
The aim of the study was to verify whether there is a difference in the lengthwise growth of the femurs and in their angular deformity when comparing preventive vs. therapeutic transplantation of allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to an iatrogenic defect in the distal physis of femur. Modified composite chitosan/collagen type I scaffold with MSCs was transplanted to an iatrogenically created defect of the growth cartilage in the lateral condyle of the left femur in 20 miniature male pigs. In Group A of animals (n = 10) allogeneic MSCs were transplanted immediately after creating the defect in the distal physis of femur (preventive transplantation). In Group B of animals (n = 10) the same defect of the growth cartilage was treated by transplantation of allogeneic MSCs four weeks after its creation (therapeutic transplantation), after the excision of the bone bridge that had formed in it. On average, left femurs with a damaged distal physis and preventively transplanted allogeneic MSCs (Group A) grew during 4 months from transplantation by 0.56 ± 0.44 cm more than right femurs without the transplantation of MSCs, whereas left femurs with physeal defects treated with a therapeutic transplantation of allogeneic MSCs (Group B) by 0.14 ± 0.72 cm only, compared to right femurs without transplanted MSCs. Four months after preventive transplantation of MSCs (Group A), valgus deformity of the distal part of left femur with the defect was 0.78 ± 0.82°; in the control group (right femur in the same animal without MSCs transplantation) it was 3.7 ± 0.82°. After therapeutic transplantation of MSCs (Group B) 0.6 ± 3.4°, in the control group (right femur in the same animal without MSCs transplantation) it was 2.1 ± 2.9°. In all the animals of Groups A and B, the presence of newly formed hyaline cartilage was confirmed histologically and immunohistochemically. In the distal physis of right femurs with an iatrogenic defect of the growth cartilage without the transplantation of MSCs (control) bone bridge was formed. Preventive transplantation of allogeneic MSCs into the defect of the distal growth zone of femur appears more suitable compared to the therapeutic transplantation, with regard to the more pronounced lengthwise bone growth. Differences found in the extent of valgus deformity were non-significant comparing preventive and therapeutic transplantations of MSCs.
Highlights
Preventive transplantation of allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into the defect of the distal growth zone of femur appears more suitable compared to the therapeutic transplantation, with regard to the more pronounced lengthwise bone growth
In this study mesenchymal stem cells derived from the bone marrow were used (BMMCs, BMMSCs), i.e., from a source most frequently used for obtaining MSCs (Chen et al 2003; Plánka et al 2007; Hui et al 2005)
The method of collecting bone marrow blood from the wing of the iliac bone was chosen for the obtaining of MSCs with regard to the high yield and easier processing of the sampled biological material, and because this method has been practiced at our department for a longer time
Summary
Preventive transplantation of allogeneic MSCs into the defect of the distal growth zone of femur appears more suitable compared to the therapeutic transplantation, with regard to the more pronounced lengthwise bone growth. In our previous studies we addressed the issue of transplantation of MSCs into the injured growth plates in pigs, mainly with the aim to find a suitable scaffold, and to verify the possibilities and evaluate some aspects of autogenous and allogeneic transplantations of mesenchymal stem cells (Plánka et al 2007; Gál et al 2007). Treatment of the bone bridge by its excision and transplantation of MSCs was studied by Hui et al (2005) The aim of this experiment was to compare the difference between preventive transplantation of a composite scaffold with allogeneic MSCs into an iatrogenic defect in the physis, performed immediately after the creation of the defect, and their therapeutic transplantation after the excision of the bone bridge, in the sense of evaluating the difference in the lengthwise growth of the relevant bone and the extent of its valgus deformity. We expected the lengthwise growth of the femoral bone to be bigger and the angular deformity to be smaller in the preventive transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells than in the case of their therapeutic transplantation
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