Periprosthetic osteolysis is the most common long-term complication of a total joint arthroplasty, often resulting in aseptic loosening of the implant. As we aim at developing a safe and minimally invasive implant refixation procedure, thorough characterisation of the properties of the periprosthetic tissue is needed. In this pilot study, the periprosthetic tissue of eleven patients undergoing hip revision surgery due to aseptic loosening was obtained. Histology, confocal microscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and nanoindentation were performed to structurally and mechanically characterise the tissue. The study was approved by the Medical Ethical Committee of the Leiden University Medical Center.Background
Methods
Aseptic loosening of prostheses is the most common cause for failure in total joint arthroplasty. Particulate wear debris induces a non-stop inflammatory-like response resulting in the formation of a layer of fibrous periprosthetic tissue at the bone/implant interface. The current treatment is an invasive revision joint replacement surgery. However, this procedure has a high morbidity rate, therefore, a less invasive alternative is necessary. One approach could be to re-establish osseointegration of the joint prosthesis by inducing osteoblast differentiation in the periprosthetic tissue. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the capacity of periprosthetic tissue cells to differentiate into the osteoblast lineage. Periprosthetic tissue samples were collected during revision surgery of aseptic loosened hip prostheses, after which cells were isolated by collagenase digestion. Of 14 different donors, cells from passage 1 till 3 were used for differentiation experiments. During 21 days, cells were cultured under normal and several osteogenic culture conditions. Cultures were stained for alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and mineral deposits in the extracellular matrix.Background
Methods