Differences in joint morphology between the knee and ankle affect the repair of osteochondral defects in a rabbit model

BACKGROUND: Although differences in the results of the bone marrow stimulation technique between the knee and ankle have been reported, a detailed mechanism for those differences has not been clarified. The purpose of this study was to examine whether morphological differences between the knee and ankle joint affect the results of drilling as treatment for osteochondral defects in a rabbit model. METHODS: Osteochondral defects were created at the knee and ankle joint in the rabbit. In the knee, osteochondral defects were created at the medial femoral condyle (MFC) and patellar groove (PG). At the ankle, defects were created in the talus at either a covered or uncovered area by the tibial plafond. After creating the osteochondral defect, drilling was performed. At 4, 8, and 12 weeks after surgery, repair of the osteochondral defects were evaluated histologically. The proliferation of rabbit chondrocytes and proteoglycan release of cartilage tissue in response to IL-1β were analyzed in vitro in both joints. RESULTS: At 8 weeks after surgery, hyaline cartilage repair was observed in defects at the covered area of the talus and the MFC. At 12 weeks, hyaline cartilage with a normal thickness was observed for the defect at the covered area of the talus, but not for the defect at the MFC. At 12 weeks, subchondral bone formation progressed and a normal contour of subchondral bone was observed on CT in the defect at the covered area of the talus. No significant differences in chondrocyte proliferation rate and proteoglycan release were detected between the knee and ankle in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that the covered areas of the talus show early and sufficient osteochondral repair compared to that of the knee and the uncovered areas of the talus. These results suggest that the congruent joint shows better subchondral repair prior to cartilage repair compared to that of the incongruent joint.