RT Journal
A1 Haudenschild, Dominik R.
A1 Hong, Eunmee
A1 Hatcher, Sandra
A1 Jamali, Amir A.
T1 Chondrogenic Potential and Homogeneity of Cell Populations of Donor and Recipient Cells in a Fresh Osteochondral AllograftA Case Report
JF The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery
JO The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery
YR 2012
FD February 1
VO 94
IS 3
SP e17 1
OP 7
DO 10.2106/JBJS.J.01969
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.2106/JBJS.J.01969
AB 
Fresh osteochondral allografts have been widely used to treat cartilage lesions for more than 100 years1. Transplantation of cartilage and bone in the form of an allograft allows osseous healing while maintaining the articular cartilage architecture. This composite tissue transplant remains intact in vivo for extensive periods of time with a favorable mechanical and biological environment. The chondrocytes of the graft are thought to actively remodel the extracellular matrix environment, and thus contribute to the tissue integrity. We recently reported that allograft cells could survive up to twenty-nine years after transplantation without the need for systemic immunosuppression2. Although mosaic cell populations have been demonstrated in other forms of transplantation, these have always been under the umbrella of long-term systemic immunosuppression3,4. In a classic study, Langer and Gross5 showed that intact articular cartilage surfaces obtained by removing the subchondral bone of rat femoral heads and filling of the osseous segments with acrylic cement exhibited essentially no humoral immune response in contrast to that seen with minced cartilage or isolated chondrocyte transplants. This finding has been attributed to the so-called “immunoprivileged” status of articular cartilage, which protects the chondrocytes from the immune system of the host.