Determination of Cryoprotectant Behavior, Physiological and Anatomical Characterization of the Porcine Meniscus as a Model for Future Meniscal Vitrification Studies

• Author / Creator

  Takroni, Talal Abdulkareem

• The menisci hold significant, protective biomechanical function in the human knee and loss of meniscal functions have been linked to the development of osteoarthritis. Currently, irreparable or non-salvageable meniscal injuries undergo partial or total removal of injured menisci to alleviate patients’ symptoms. Unfortunately, in the long term both procedures lead to knee degenerative changes. Investigators are seeking techniques to bank donor meniscal tissue for future allograft transplantation, by means of tissue vitrification while using cryoprotectant agents (CPAs). However, achieving this goal would require extensive investigation and intact human meniscal tissue is not readily available for this purpose. Thereby, animal models are indispensable tools for meniscus investigation. The reliability and applicability of these models to replicate findings in humans depends on determining the most suitable animal proxy. The porcine model is commonly used in our laboratory for Orthopaedic tissue experimentation. Before the porcine meniscus can be regarded as a suitable model for human meniscal investigations, it has to be examined from a physiologic, anatomical and functional perspective. First, we examined the behavior of two commonly used CPAs (EG and glycerol) with the porcine meniscus by determining the post-incubation efflux rates. Second, we performed biochemical analysis to investigate the glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and DNA content of the porcine meniscus. Finally, through a descriptive anatomical study, we compared the weight, volume and dimensions of the human meniscus with two commonly used animal models: sheep and pig. Our findings provided preliminary data on the efflux amount of EG and glycerol from the porcine meniscus for different experimental conditions. Those findings would aid in choosing meniscus incubation duration and the choice of experimental temperature when designing future studies. Moreover, our structural study revealed a higher concentration of sulfated GAGs in the inner two-thirds region of the porcine meniscus. Additionally, based on anatomical features, the sheep meniscus showed more resemblance to the human meniscus than the porcine meniscus, suggesting that it might be a more suitable model than the current model that was used

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Meniscus vitrification
  • Meniscus tissue banking
  • Meniscus allograft transplantation
  • Cryoprotectant agents
  • Translational animal models

• Graduation date

  Spring 2016

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3222RD9R

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.