Abstract
Acute cartilage injury can induce apoptosis, which can lead to osteoarthritis later on in life. Mechanical loading has been shown to halt IL-1 induced cartilage degradation. This study investigated the effect of mechanical loading on chondrocyte apoptosis following a mechanical injury. We analyzed 8 mm cartilage plugs harvested from the trochlea region of 3 porcine knees. We impacted the cartilage plugs using a drop tower to induce an injury response. Twenty-four hours after impaction the cells were analyzed for total number of chondrocytes, chondrocyte viability, and histology, which included apoptotic TUNEL staining. These results indicate that mechanical loading has a beneficial effect on injured cartilage and may be used as an early intervention to preserve cell viability.
