Cartilage Repair and Subchondral Bone Remodeling in Response to Focal Lesions in a Mini-Pig Model: Implications for Tissue Engineering

Abstract

The bony remodeling observed in this model system appears to be a biological phenomena and not a result of altered mechanical loading, with the depth of the focal chondral defect (partial vs. full thickness) dictating the bony remodeling response. The type of cartilage injury should be carefully controlled in studies utilizing this model to evaluate TE approaches for cartilage repair.