The mucosal invasion model: a novel in vitro model for evaluating the invasive behavior of mucocutaneous malignancies

Rabbit Ear Cartilage Regeneration With a Small Intestinal Submucosa Graft

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS

The objective was to demonstrate that interpositional grafting with porcine small intestinal submucosa promotes cartilage regeneration following excision of rabbit auricular cartilage.

STUDY DESIGN

Blinded, controlled study.

METHODS

Eight New Zealand white rabbits underwent excision of auricular cartilage on two sites with and two sites without preservation of perichondrium. Porcine small intestinal submucosa was implanted into one site with and one site without intact perichondrium. Remaining sites served as control sites. Histological assessment was performed at 3 (n = 4) and 6 (n = 3) months and at 1 year (n = 1) after grafting.

RESULTS

Histological evaluation showed cartilage regeneration accompanied by chronic inflammation in areas in which porcine small intestinal submucosa was implanted between layers of intact perichondrium. Other sites failed to show significant cartilage regeneration.

CONCLUSION

The results of the study using porcine small intestinal submucosa as a bioscaffold for cartilage regeneration are promising and justify further animal and human studies.

Role of metalloproteins in the clinical management of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Metalloproteins are a group of catalytic proteins, which play significant roles in cell cycle and death. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of endopeptidases that are capable of digesting extracellular matrix components. They have been implicated in carcinogenesis and recent developments have been made to use MMPs clinically to predict outcomes. In the future, selective inhibition of these proteins and their regulatory pathways may prove useful in anticancer therapeutics. We present a review article on the clinical applications of metalloproteins in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Metalopanstimulin is highlighted as a putative metalloprotein of interest for those treating HNSCC. Expression of particular metalloproteins has correlation with lymph node metastasis, tumor invasiveness, and overall prognosis in HNSCC.