FIGURE 5.

Extracellular matrix-specific histological and immunohistological analyses of tissue repair. Canine osteochondral defects (6 mm × 5 mm) were performed as described in the section “Materials and Methods.” The defects were left empty (“empty” defects) or filled with Si-HPCH alone (“Si-HPCH”) or Si-HPCH associated with cASC (“Si-PHCH/cASC”). After 4 months of implantation, the dogs were sacrificed, the knees were retrieved, and samples were histologically characterized by Safranin O (SO) and Movat pentachrome (Movat) staining. The samples were also immunostained for type II collagen (“Coll2”) and type I collagen (“Coll1”). Healthy cartilage of intact canine condyle is shown as an internal comparator. Representative histological slides are presented. The scale bar represents 2.5 mm.