Liang Gao

Universität des Saarlandes | UKS · Zentrum für Experimentelle Orthopädie

Background: The addition of a type I/III collagen membrane in cartilage defects treated with microfracture has been advocated for cartilage repair, termed "autologous matrix-induced chondrogenesis" (AMIC). Purpose: To examine the current clinical evidence regarding AMIC for focal chondral defects. Study design: Systematic review. Methods: A...

Articular cartilage damage occurring during early osteoarthritis (OA) is a key event marking the development of the disease. Here, we modeled early human OA by gathering detailed spatiotemporal data from surgically induced knee OA development in sheep. We identified a specific topographical pattern of osteochondral changes instructed by a defined m...

Advanced biomaterial‐guided delivery of gene vectors is an emerging and highly attractive therapeutic solution for targeted articular cartilage repair, allowing for a controlled and minimally invasive delivery of gene vectors in a spatiotemporally precise manner, reducing intra‐articular vector spread and possible loss of the therapeutic gene produ...

Although the use of bioactive ions and proteins are crucial for bone defect repair, delivering them in a stable and controlled manner remains challenging. To achieve controlled delivery of osteogenic active factor, we developed a novel double network (DN) hydrogel capable of co-delivering Mg²⁺ ions and BMP2 in a controlled localized manner. This DN...

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) ranks as one of the most deadly cancers worldwide due to its aggressive progression and poor treatment response. The long non-coding RNA (lncRNA)-microRNA (miRNA)-messenger RNA (mRNA) axis has been highlighted as a potency biomarker for enhancing the radiosensitivity of ESCC. Hence, we investigated the func...

Brucellar spondylodiscitis, the most prevalent and significant osteoarticular presentation of human Brucellosis, is difficult to diagnose and usually yields irreversible neurologic deficits and spinal deformities. Relevant aspects of Brucella pathogenesis have been intensively investigated in preclinical models. Mice, rats, rabbits, and sheep are r...

Many studies focused on the annulus fibrosus (AF) injury in rodent tail model for the intervertebral disk degeneration (IDD) research. However, previous studies caused tremendous injury of intervertebral disk (IVD) by penetrating whole disk. This study aimed to build a progressive IDD rodent tail model by a novel device for precise and minimally in...

Objectives: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in China. Intensity-modulated radiation therapy and volume-modulated arc therapy have become the main treatments for esophageal carcinoma; however, side effects caused by radiotherapy greatly impact the quality of life in these patients. This study aim...

Background: Supercapsular percutaneously-assisted total hip (SuperPath) arthroplasty has been proposed to be minimally invasive and tissue sparing, with possible superior postoperative outcomes compared with conventional approaches for total hip arthroplasty (THA). However, previous studies have underlined the shortcomings of conventional THA appro...

Stem cell‑based therapy is a promising alternative to conventional approaches to treating intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD). However, comprehensive understanding of stem cell‑based therapy at the gene level is still lacking. In the present study, we identified the expression profiles of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and long non‑coding RNAs (lncRNAs)...

Background Based on the status of the COVID-19 global pandemic, there is an urgent need to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of wearing masks to protect public health from COVID-19 infection. Methods The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement was consulted to report this systematic review. We c...

Objective: We aimed to compare the characteristics of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in China, Italy, and South Korea. Materials and methods: Detailed national epidemiological information of COVID-19 was retracted from the latest statistics reports from China, Italy, and Sou...

Subchondral bone cysts represent an early postoperative sign associated with many articular cartilage repair procedures. They may be defined as an abnormal cavity within the subchondral bone in close proximity of a treated cartilage defect with a possible communication to the joint cavity in the absence of osteoarthritis. Two synergistic mechanisms...

Over the past few years, tissue-engineering technology provided a new direction for bone defects therapy, which involved developing applicable biological materials composite with seed cells to repair bone defects tissue. However, as one of the commonest seed cells for tissue engineering, BMSCs (bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells), are still lacking...

Background: Solely anterior plating via the modified Stoppa approach might yield satisfactory outcomes for selected cases of complex acetabular fractures, however, its indications are not practically clear. Methods: Patients with complex acetabular fractures treated with solely anterior plating via the modified Stoppa approach with or without a la...

Background Conflicting recommendations exist related to whether masks have a protective effect on the spread of respiratory viruses. Methods The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement was consulted to report this systematic review. Relevant articles were retrieved from PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceD...

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a common cancer occurring to males and females worldwide. Accumulating evidence continues to highlight the crucial roles of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the process of tumorigenesis. However, the regulatory mechanism of lncRNAs in ESCC remains unclear. The aim of this study is to elucidate the role...

Background: The supercapsular percutaneously-assisted total hip arthroplasty (SuperPath) was proposed to be minimally invasive and tissue sparing with possible superior postoperative outcomes to traditional approaches of total hip arthroplasty (THA). Here, we compared the short-term outcomes of staged THA with the SuperPath or through posterolatera...

Background: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play important roles in regulating the radioresistance of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). This study aimed to determine the role of hsa_circRNA_100367 in regulating radioresistance of ESCC. Results: Higher expression and potency of endothelial to mesenchymal transformation (EMT) was found in radioresi...

Purpose The purpose of this study was to provide a systematic evaluation of the patellofemoral joint design of Medial Pivot Prosthesis, which incorporates a variety of “Patella-friendly” design features, by comparing clinical and radiographic results with another prosthesis. Methods Early clinical and radiographic results of patients who underwent...

Corrective lower limb osteotomies are innovative and efficient therapeutic procedures for restoring axial alignment and managing unicompartmental knee osteoarthritis. This review presents critical insights into the up-dated clinical knowledge on osteotomies for complex posttraumatic or congenital lower limb deformities, including a comprehensive ov...

Background: Articular cartilage lesions generated by trauma or osteoarthritis are the most common causes of pain and disability in patients. The development of photopolymerizable hydrogels has allowed for significant advances in cartilage repair procedures. Such three-dimensional (3D) networks of polymers that carry large amounts of water can be c...

Background: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) ranks as one of the most fatal cancers worldwide for its aggression and unsatisfactory survival rate. The long non-coding RNA (lncRNA)-microRNA (miRNA)-mRNA axis has been highlighted as a potency biomarker for enhancing the radiosensitivity of ESCC. Hence, we investigated the functional mechanis...

The deleterious effects of nicotine on various health conditions have been well documented. Although many orthopedic diseases are adversely affected by nicotine, little is known about its preclinical effects on chondrogenesis or osteogenesis, cartilage formation, osteoarthritis (OA), and osteochondral repair. A systematic review was conducted exami...

Cartilage defects are a common clinical problem and their treatment continues to be a challenge. Since cartilage has an extremely limited ability to self-healing, various experimental and clinical approaches have been explored to stimulate the repair of cartilage matrix: microfracture (MFx), the gold standard among BMS (bone marrow stimulation) tec...

Brucellar spondylodiscitis, the most prevalent and significant osteoarticular presentation of human Brucellosis, is difficult to diagnose and usually yields irreversible neurologic deficits and spinal deformities. However, no animal models of Brucellar spondylodiscitis exist, allowing for preclinical investigations. .e present study investigated wh...

Osteoarthritis affects the entire joint structures, which are unable to be completely regenerated with current clinical treatments. Even the concept of osteoarthritis gene therapy has been proposed over the past two decades, only five clinical trials have ever been undertaken. This Editorial highlights recent translational advances of osteoarthriti...

Background: Bi-columnar plating via combined anterior and posterior approaches is routinely applied treatment for complex acetabular fractures with noteworthy shortcomings. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the anterior plating with an ilioischial plate through the combined anterior approach for complex acetabular fracture...

Cartilage defects are a common clinical problem and their treatment continues to be a challenge. Since cartilage has an extremely limited ability to self-healing, various experimental and clinical approaches have been explored to stimulate the repair of cartilage matrix: microfracture (MFx), the gold standard among BMS (bone marrow stimulation) tec...

Cartilage defects are a common clinical problem and their treatment continues to be a challenge. Since cartilage has an extremely limited ability to self-healing, various experimental and clinical approaches have been explored to stimulate the repair of cartilage matrix: microfracture (MFx), the gold standard among BMS (bone marrow stimulation) tec...

Background: Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) at the cervicothoracic junction of spine is clinically relevant, however, little attention had been paid. T2 mapping and magnetic transfer ratio (MTR) are useful magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques to quantitatively evaluate IDD, revealing the biochemical changes within the intervertebral...

Osteoarthritis (OA) affects a significant number of the world's adult population. In recent years different causal approaches to treat OA based on new translational knowledge have been developed. This review article provides, a brief overview of new findings on the pathophysiology and genetics and the interplay between biomechanics, pain and body w...

Osteoarthritis (OA) affects a significant number of the world's adult population. In recent years different causal approaches to treat OA based on new translational knowledge have been developed. This review article provides, a brief overview of new findings on the pathophysiology and genetics and the interplay between biomechanics, pain and body w...

Purpose To systematically review and evaluate novel clinical data following microfracture treatment of knee articular cartilage defects. Methods A systematic review was performed by searching PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Cochrane Library databases for clinical trials on microfracture treatment, published between 2013 and 2018. Titles, abstracts, and...

Aim: Limited researches involving the multi-ligament injured knee dislocation have been reported in elderly patients due to its relatively low incidence rate. The purpose of this study was to present the clinical outcomes after surgery of the multi-ligament injured knee dislocation and to analyze the value of surgical timing and comorbid injury tre...

Possible failures of autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI), a cell-based technique for articular cartilage repair, are not always clinically apparent and the underlying mechanisms largely remain unknown. This study presents the first scenario in the literature highlighting an association of a medium-term partial failure of an advanced ACI proce...

Background: Stem cell therapy is considered as a promising alternative to treat intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD). Extensive work had been done on identifying and comparing different types of candidate stem cells, both in vivo and in vitro. However, few studies shed their light on degenerated nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs), especially their bio...

Articular cartilage defects may initiate osteoarthritis. Subchondral drilling, a widely applied clinical technique to treat small cartilage defects, does not yield cartilage regeneration. Various translational studies aiming to improve the outcome of drilling have been performed, however, a robust systematic analysis of its translational evidence h...

This study aimed to appraise two quantitative MRI techniques, T2* imaging and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), for the diagnosis of the intervertebral disc degeneration of the cervico-thoracic junction. Influence of specific factors and diagnostic accuracy of both techniques were particularly explored. Sixty-one volunteers with neck and upper back...

Selecting identical topographical locations to analyse pathological structural changes of the osteochondral unit in translational models remains difficult. The specific aim of the study was to provide objectively defined reference points on the ovine tibial plateau based on 2-D sections of micro-CT images useful for reproducible sample harvesting a...

In order to investigate the interaction between human Wharton’s jelly cells (WJCs) and degenerative nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs), human WJCs were cocultured with degenerative NPCs with or without direct cell-cell contact. WJCs were isolated from the human umbilical cord and degenerative NPCs were isolated from the surgically obtained degenerative...

Rationale: For traumatic upper limb amputees, the prohibitive cost of a custom-made prosthesis brings an insufferable financial burden for their families in developing countries. Three-dimensional (3D) printing allows for creating affordable, lightweight, customized, and well-fitting prosthesis, especially for the growing children. Patient concern...

Purpose: To systematically review the available pre-clinical evidence of adult stem cells as a biological augmentation in the treatment of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Study design: Systematic review Methods: Pubmed (Medline) and Embase were searched for the eligible studies. The inclusion criteria were controlled animal trials of ad...

Introduction: Type-I/III collagen membranes are advocated for clinical use in articular cartilage repair as being able of inducing chondrogenesis, a technique termed autologous matrix-induced chondrogenesis (AMIC). Area covered: The current in vitro and translational in vivo evidence for chondrogenic effects of solid acellular type-I/III collagen...

Animal models play an important role to test novel experimental strategies and reconstructive surgical treatments of focal articular cartilage defects. Such animal models need to reflect the different appearances and aetiologies of cartilage defects, e.g. caused by trauma or osteoarthritis. Depth of articular cartilage defects plays an important ro...

For the traumatic child upper limb amputees, the prohibitive cost of a custom-made prosthesis brings an insufferable financial burden for their families, especially in developing countries and areas. Three-dimensional (3D) printed prostheses have recently emerged as customizable and affordable alternatives to traditional custom-made ones. We report...

Microfracture of cartilage defects may induce alterations of the subchondral bone in the mid- and long-term, yet very little is known about their onset. Possibly, these changes may be avoided by an enhanced microfracture technique with additional application of bone marrow aspirate. In this study, full-thickness chondral defects in the knee joints...

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from bone marrow play a critical role in osteochondral repair. A bone marrow clot forms within the cartilage defect either as a result of marrow stimulation or during the course of the spontaneous repair of osteochondral defects. Mobilized pluripotent MSCs from the subchondral bone migrate into the defect filled with t...

Subchondral bone alterations are emerging as considerable clinical problems associated with articular cartilage repair. Their analysis exposes a pattern of variable changes, including intra-lesional osteophytes, residual microfracture holes, peri-hole bone resorption, and subchondral bone cysts. A precise distinction between them is becoming increa...