Furukawa T, Eyre D R, Koide S, Glimcher M J
J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1980 Jan;62(1):79-89.
Wounds penetrating articular cartilage to bone heal with cartilage described variably as either fibrous or hyaline. In the present study, such repair cartilage was induced in the rabbit for biochemical comparison with normal articular cartilage. The main collagen in the repair tissue after three weeks was type I. By six to eight weeks, type II had become predominant and continued to be enriched up to one year; but type I still persisted as a significant constituent of the repair tissue even after a year, so the repair cartilage never fully resembled normal articular cartilage. From radiochemical analysis, type II was determined to be the major collagen synthesized by the repair tissue after three to four weeks. After six months, the repair cartilage contained more collagen and less hexosamine than control cartilage, suggesting that the fibrous texture that often developed was due to a loss of proteoglycans rather than to a change in the type of collagen.
Procedures capable of inducing the differentiation of authentic articular cartilage to resurface degenerated human joints would be invaluable. Surgical methods, such as drilling through to subchondral bone, are often attempted. It is not known, however, whether the cartilage that forms is true articular cartilage or, for example, fibrocartilage. The present experimental study in rabbits compared the properties of such repair cartilage with those of normal articular cartilage.
穿透关节软骨至骨的伤口愈合时，所形成的软骨在描述上有多种情况，可为纤维软骨或透明软骨。在本研究中，在兔体内诱导出此类修复软骨，以便与正常关节软骨进行生化比较。三周后修复组织中的主要胶原蛋白是I型。到六至八周时，II型胶原蛋白占主导地位，并在长达一年的时间里持续富集；但即使在一年后，I型胶原蛋白仍是修复组织的重要组成部分，因此修复软骨从未完全类似于正常关节软骨。通过放射化学分析确定，三至四周后修复组织合成的主要胶原蛋白是II型。六个月后，修复软骨比对照软骨含有更多的胶原蛋白和更少的己糖胺，这表明经常出现的纤维质地是由于蛋白聚糖的丢失而非胶原蛋白类型的改变。
能够诱导真正的关节软骨分化以修复退化的人类关节表面的方法将非常宝贵。人们经常尝试诸如钻至软骨下骨等手术方法。然而，尚不清楚所形成的软骨是否为真正的关节软骨，例如是否为纤维软骨。目前在兔身上进行的实验研究比较了这种修复软骨与正常关节软骨的特性。
