TheOpenOrthopaedicsJournal,2012,6,231-2382311874-3250/122012BenthamOpenOpenAccessSafetyofIntra-ArticularUseofAtelocollagenforEnhancedTissueRepairEliseM.Magarian1,PatrickVavken1,SusanA.Connolly2,AshleyN.Mastrangelo1andMarthaM.Murray*,11DepartmentofOrthopaedicSurgery,Children’sHospitalBoston,300LongwoodAve,Boston,MA02115,USA2DepartmentofRadiology,Children’sHospitalBoston,300LongwoodAve,Boston,MA02115,USAAbstract:Collagenisanimportantbiomaterialinintra-articulartissueengineering,butthereareunansweredquestionsaboutitssafety.Wehypothesizethattheadditionoftype-I-collagenforprimaryrepairoftheAnteriorCruciateLigament(ACL)mightresultinalocalandsystemicreactioninaporcinemodelafter15weeksasdemonstratedbyjointeffusion,synovialthickening,elevatedintraarticularandsystemicleukocytecounts.Further,thisreactionmightbeaggravatedbytheadditionofaplateletconcentrate.EighteenporcineACLsweretransectedandrepairedwitheithersutures(n=6),acollagensponge(n=6),oracollagen-platelet-composite(CPC;n=6).Twelveintactcontralateralkneesservedascontrols(n=12).Nosignificantsynovialthickeningorjointeffusionwasseeninthecollagen-treatedknees.Synovialfluidleukocytecountsshowednosignificantdifferencesbetweensurgicallytreatedandintactknees,andnodifferenceswereseeninleukocytecountsoftheperipheralblood.TheadditionofaplateletconcentratetothekneejointresultedinlowerserumlevelsofIL-1�,butserumlevelsofTNF-�werenotsignificantlydifferentbetweengroups.Inconclusion,thepresenceofcollagen,withorwithoutaddedplatelets,didnotincreasethelocalorsystemicinflammatoryreactionsfollowingsurgery,suggestingthatTypeIcollagenissafetouseinthekneejoint.Keywords:ACL,biomaterials,collagen,safety,tissueengineering.1.INTRODUCTIONTherehasbeenarecentupsurgeininterestinusingextracellularmatrix-basedmaterialstoenhancerepairoftissueswithinthekneejoint.SpecificallyfortheAnteriorCruciateLigament(ACL),thesematerialshavebeenusedasplateletstabilizationscaffoldsinacentraldefectmodel[1,2],aswellasinacompleteACLtransectionmodel[3,4]andalsotoenhanc...
