Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Articular cartilage allograft transplantation is one of effective methods for treatment of articular cartilage defects. However, the short preservation time of osteochondral allograft in vitro limits its clinical application
OBJECTIVE: To discuss the feasibility and superiority of vitrification method on the viability of chondrocytes.
METHODS: Osteochondral tissues were isolated from adult pigs, and cut into approximately 5 mm×6 mm (diameter×length) cylindrical osteochondral blocks. Fresh cartilage was taken as control. The osteochondral blocks was pretreated with 0.5 mol/L glycerol, 1 mol/L dimethyl sulfoxide, and 1 mol/L vitrification solution, respectively, and then cryopreserved for 8 weeks. Histochemistry staining and immunofluorescence staining were performed to observe and compare the changes in chondrocyte viability.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The viability of chondrocytes was 74.5% in the vitrification pretreatment group, significantly higher than the glycerol and dimethyl sulfoxide pretreatment groups. In addition, there was a small loss of cartilage matrix in the vitrification pretreatment group. In summary, the vitrification-cryopreservation method can greatly improve the viability of frozen chondrocytes.