Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30739432›Full record

ArticleEuropean journal of histochemistry : EJH2019

Morphological and ultrastructural analysis of normal, injured and osteoarthritic human knee menisci.

Michela Battistelli, Marta Favero, Debora Burini, Giovanni Trisolino, Dante Dallari, Lucia De Franceschi, Steven R Goldring, Mary B Goldring, Elisa Belluzzi, Giuseppe Filardo and 3 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in European journal of histochemistry : EJH, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 60 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
60citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
3.8field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

60 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 74 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Trial
  5. Trial
  6. Trial
  7. Trial
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Medial Osteochondral Defect Drives Matrix and Cell Pathology in Compartment-Matched Meniscus.Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society · 2025
    Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Observational
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Michela BattistelliUniversity of Urbino "Carlo Bo", Department of Biomolecular Sciences. michela.battistelli@uniurb.it.
Marta Favero
Debora Burini
Giovanni Trisolino
Dante Dallari
Lucia De Franceschi
Steven R Goldring
Mary B Goldring
Elisa Belluzzi
Giuseppe Filardo
Brunella Grigolo
Elisabetta Falcieri
Eleonora Olivotto
Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli · ITUniversity of Urbino · ITHospital for Special Surgery · USUniversity of Padua · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The human meniscus plays a crucial role for transmission and distribution of load across the knee, as well as shock absorption, joint stability, lubrication, and congruity. The aim of this study was to compare the complex geometry, and unique ultrastructure and tissue composition of the meniscus in healthy (control) and pathological conditions to provide understanding of structural changes that could be helpful in the future design of targetted therapies and improvement of treatment indications. We analyzed meniscus samples collected from 3 healthy multi-organ donors (median age, 66 years), 5 patients with traumatic meniscal tear (median age, 41 years) and 3 patients undergoing total knee replacement (TKR) for end-stage osteoarthritis (OA) (median age, 72 years). We evaluated the extracellular matrix (ECM) organization, the appearance and distribution of areas of calcification, and modifications of cellular organization and structure by electron microscopy and histology. The ECM structure was similar in specimens from traumatic meniscus tears compared to those from patients with late-stage OA, showing disorganization of collagen fibers and increased proteoglycan content. Cells of healthy menisci showed mainly diffuse chromatin and well preserved organelles. Both in traumatic and in OA menisci, we observed increased chromatin condensation, organelle degeneration, and cytoplasmic vacuolization, a portion of which contained markers of autophagic vacuoles. Areas of calcification were also observed in both traumatic and OA menisci, as well as apoptotic-like features that were particularly prominent in traumatic meniscal tear samples. We conclude that meniscal tissue from patients with traumatic meniscal injury demonstrate pathological alterations characteristic of tissue from older patients undergoing TKR, suggesting that they have high susceptibility to develop OA.

Indexed as

AdultAgedCalcinosisExtracellular MatrixFemaleHumansKnee InjuriesKnee JointMaleMeniscusMicroscopy, Electron, TransmissionMiddle AgedOsteoarthritis, Knee

Identifiers

PMID30739432
PMCPMC6379780
OpenAlexW2913241631

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.