Objective: To engineer diversified shapes of neocartilage from auto-cartilage and provide a new method to reconstruct cartilage.
Methods: Cartilage obtained from the ear of 5-week-old New Zealand rabbits was cut into pieces of 0.5 mm x 0.5 mm, which were seeded onto the three-dimensional polylactic acid foams. The cartilage-polymer construct was implanted into a subcutaneous pocket of the donor rabbit. Animals were sacrificed at 3rd, 6th month after implantation. The retrieved implants in each animal were used for gross measurement and histological analysis.
Results: Gross examinations of the specimens at 6 months after implantation revealed that there was neocartilage formation; the maxim size was 8 mm x 8 mm. The cartilage showed no signs of resorption. Histological evaluation confirmed the generation of cartilage. The polymer substrate support cell proliferation. The extracellular matrix stained strongly positive for S-GAGs with Alcian blue staining.
Conclusion: Neocartilage can be created using free auto-cartilage transplantation on appropriate polymer templates.