In Vivo Articular Cartilage Regeneration Using Human Dental Pulp Stem Cells Cultured in an Alginate Scaffold: A Preliminary Study

Figure 4

Osteochondral defects of 3 mm were generated in the knees of rabbits and covered with alginate alone (b, f, j, n), alginate containing 2 × 10⁶ rabbit primary chondrocytes (c, g, k, o), or alginate containing 2 × 10⁶ hDPSCs (d, h, l, p). The animals were sacrificed 3 months after surgery. Knees were fixed with 4% formaldehyde, immersed in OSTEOSOFT decalcifier solution for 5 wk at room temperature, and embedded in paraffin. The resulting 5 μm-thick sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and analyzed under normal (a–h), polarized (i–l) light using an optical microscope. Immunohistochemistry analysis of type II collagen is represented in panels m–p. Histological images of control animals (a, e, i, m) are also represented. Representative microscopic images of animals are shown.

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