Fig. 9

Histomorphological evaluation of repaired tissue at 12 weeks. A Histological (H&E, safranin O, and Sirius red staining) and immunohistochemical staining (collagen II) of the defect area. Solid arrows indicate the repair interface. (N: normal cartilage; R: repaired cartilage). Scale bars are 500 μm. B Modified O’Driscoll scores for the histological evaluation of cartilage repair after 6 weeks and 12 weeks. Data are presented as the means ± SDs (n = 3). C Young’s modulus of repaired cartilage in different groups (n = 3). E and F Biochemical assay results showing the GAG and total collagen contents. Statistical analysis: *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001