Figure 2

Gross morphology and the wound repair of defects. (A) Representative SEM images of cell-seeded Alpha Chondro Shield are shown. Both PA MSCs and CD271+ MSCs (red arrows) were attached to the fibres (yellow asterisks) of polyglycolic acid at 30 minutes post-seeding. The Alpha Chondro Shield scaffold alone control is also shown. With further time in culture (days 7 and 28), the PA MSCs and CD271+ MSCs became more fibroblastic in appearance and filled the scaffold. LIVE/DEAD staining was performed on long-term cultures, where all cells appeared to be viable (green fluorescence). Scale bars = 50 µm for top and bottom panel SEM; scale bars = 25 µm for mid panel SEM and LIVE/DEAD images. Insets (top panels) show high magnification images of cells firmly attached to the scaffold fibres. Inset scale bar = 10 µm. (B) Representative images are shown of the gross morphology of the defects transplanted with PA MSCs, CD271+ MSCs and Alpha Chondro Shield alone. Gross examination revealed a glossy white and well-integrated repair tissue in the animals that received CD271+ MSCs, but not in animals that received PA MSCs or Alpha Chondro Shield alone (control). (C) The overall macroscopic scores of defects transplanted with CD271+ MSCs were significantly better than the defects transplanted with PA MSCs (p value = 0.043) or control (p value = 0.039). Data shown are means ± SDs.