Purpose
The aim of the study was to determine the in vitro effects of plasma-mediated bipolar
radiofrequency ablation on human chondrocyte compensatory proliferation and inflammatory
mediator expression.
Methods
Human articular cartilage biopsy specimens, from total knee replacement, and human
chondrocytes in alginate culture, from patients undergoing autologous chondrocyte
implantation, were exposed to plasma ablation with a Paragon T2 probe (ArthroCare,
Austin, TX). Instantaneous chondrocyte death was investigated with live/dead assays
of biopsy specimens and cell cultures. Chondrocyte proliferation was determined by
Hoechst staining of DNA on days 3 and 6. Messenger RNA expression of IL-1β, IL-6,
IL-8, tumor necrosis factor α, high-mobility group protein B1, matrix metalloproteinase
13, type IIA collagen, and versican was determined on days 3 and 6.
Results
Live/dead imaging showed a well-defined local margin of cell death ranging from 150
to 200 μm deep, both in the alginate gel and in the biopsy specimens exposed to plasma
ablation. The ablation-exposed group showed a significant proliferation increase compared
with control on day 3 (P < .043). There were significant increases compared with control in IL-6 expression
on day 3 (P < .020) and day 6 (P < .045) and in IL-8 expression on day 3 (P < .048). No differences were seen for IL-1β, tumor necrosis factor α, high-mobility
group protein B1, matrix metalloproteinase 13, type II collagen, or versican.
Conclusions
This study has shown that exposure to plasma-mediated ablation induces a well-defined
area of immediate cell death and a short-term increase in proliferation with human
articular chondrocytes in vitro. The exposure also alters cytokine expression for
the same period, causing upregulation of IL-6 and IL-8.
Clinical Relevance
The results show the potential of plasma-mediated ablation to cause the onset of a
tissue regeneration response with human articular cartilage.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 06, 2012
Accepted:
January 13,
2012
Received:
April 15,
2011
Footnotes
The authors report the following potential conflict of interest or source of funding in relation to this article: ArthroCare Europe AB.
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 Arthroscopy Association of North America. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
