Grant: Collaborative Health Research Projects

We are developing an innovative technique to treat osteoarthritis, the debilitating condition wherein loss of mobility results from degeneration of the cartilage in th joint. Currently, there are few surgical approaches available for the repair of these focal cartilage lesions. One of the most widely used of these techniques is autologous osteochondral grafting in which donor cartilage-bone grafts are removed from the non-weight-bearing sites of the joint and placed in a prepared defect site. Even though this is a fairly simple procedure that has been used for almost a decade, one drawback is the lack of cartilage integration between the transplanted grafts as well as between the grafts and the host tissue at the periphery of the defect. Thus, it is the objective of this proposal to promote cartilage integration through the controlled release of growth factors directly at the graft-host and graft-graft interfaces. The technique involves the delivery of protein therapeutics at the site of a tissue transplantation in the joint space. The protein therapeutics will be chosen so as to encourage migration of articular cartilage cells in the afflicted region at the periphery of the transplant site into the interface region. Once in this region, the cartilage cells will grow and produce cartilag tissue. In this manner better integration of the transplant with the surrounding healthy tissue will be achieved. The project has the potential to improve the quality of life of numerous Canadians suffering from joint pain and disability arising from arthritic conditions. This project will be conducted by 1 PhD candidate and 1 Post-Doctoral Fellow, who will gain both research and clinical experience within a multi-disciplinary team consisting of biomedical engineers and surgeons. The project brings together researchers at two universities, Guelph and Queen's, to work together to design an effective treatment for osteoarthritis.