Effect of tenascin‐C on the repair of full‐thickness osteochondral defects of articular cartilage in rabbits

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of tenascin-C (TNC) on the repair of full-thickness osteochondral defects of articular cartilage in vivo. We used a gellan-gellan-sulfate sponge (Gellan-GS) to maintain a TNC-rich environment in the cartilage defects. We implanted Gellan-GS soaked in PBS only (Group 1), Gellan-GS soaked in 10 mg/ml of TNC (Group 2), and Gellan-GS soaked in 100 mg/ml of TNC (Group 3) into a full-thickness osteochondral defect of the patellar groove of rabbits. The defect area was examined grossly and histologically 4-12 weeks after surgery. Sections of synovium were also immunohistochemically investigated. Histologically as well as macroscopically, the defects in Group 2 showed better repair than the other groups at 8 and 12 weeks after surgery. Inflammation of the synovium tended to diminish over time in all groups, and the degree of synovitis was the same for all three groups at each time point. In conclusion, Gellan-GS soaked in TNC can be used as a novel scaffold for the repair of articular cartilage defects. This study also indicates that TNC promotes the repair of full-thickness osteochondral defects in vivo. ß

Tenascin C affects mineralization of SaOS2 osteoblast-like cells through matrix vesicles

“…TNC is an osteoblast-secreted extracellular matrix protein which is able to stimulate osteoblastic differentiation and help to maintain the functional state of cultured osteoblast-like cells including SaOS2 cells (18,19). Meaningfully, TNC has been indicated to be associated with chronic kidney disease mineral and bone disorder, suggesting TNC may act as a key mediator and target for osteogenesis, especially for mineralization formation (20).…”

Targeting early changes in the synovial microenvironment: a new class of immunomodulatory therapy?

“…Finally, while antibodies that specifically target FBG highlight this domain of tenascin-C as a critical driver of chronic synovial inflammation, the capacity of tenascin-C to exert both beneficial and deleterious effects across different joint tissues21 illustrates a fascinating context specificity for this molecule that remains poorly understood. For example, administration of exogeneous full-length tenascin-C prevents cartilage degeneration during murine models of osteoarthritis22 and promotes cartilage repair when applied to osteochondral defects in rabbits 23. It is not yet clear whether activation of TLR4 by the FBG domain occurs in isolation from, or in synergy with, signalling by other tenascin-C domains, how signals from this multidomain molecule are integrated within complex tissue networks and how tissue-specific responses to tenascin-C are mediated.…”

Tenascin-C in Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis

“…Articular cartilage has a limited potential for repair and damaged cartilage is associated with the development of OA. Many strategies to repair cartilage have been proposed including bone marrow stimulation techniques, osteochondral graft, cell-based cartilage repair procedures, and the use of growth factors, such as TGF-β, bone morphogenetic protein-2, and FGF ( 26 , 27 ). Autologous chondrocyte implantation offers great promise with good long-term results; however, its applicability for large defects is limited ( 28 ).…”

“…In TNC-knockout BALB/c mice, cartilage repair was found to be significantly delayed compared to WT mice, and the deficiency of TNC accelerated degeneration of cartilage ( 30 ). When examining the effects of intra-articular TNC administration on the repair of full-thickness cartilage defects in rabbits using scaffolding matrices, full-length TNC (10 µg/mL) was found to promote the repair of cartilage in vivo ( 27 ). However, scaffold impregnated with a higher concentration (100 µg/mL) of TNC did not facilitate cartilage repair.…”