Fig. 9.

Linear regression between aggrecan expression in spheroids and tissue regeneration capacity. Statistical dependency between chondrocyte spheroid characteristics and tissue regeneration capacity was tested by calculating the Spearman’s correlation coefficient (see Table 2). a Linear regression of tissue regeneration and ACAN protein expression in spheroids before implantation. Goodness-of-fit R₂ = 0.347 (p < 0.03). b Linear regression of tissue regeneration and ACAN mRNA levels. Since spheroids derived from donor ID12 display extremely high mRNA levels it was defined as a statistical outlier in this analysis. For the rest of the patients, tissue regeneration is significantly correlated with tissue regeneration