Preparation of tissue for meniscal implantation

1. A method of preparing donor meniscal tissue for subsequent implantation into a host comprising:

(i) thawing a frozen meniscal tissue;

(ii) incubating the tissue in a hypotonic solution;

(iii) incubating the tissue in a hypotonic solution comprising an anionic detergent;

(iv) repeating (ii) and (iii);

(v) incubating the tissue in a solution comprising at least one nuclease enzyme; and

(vi) washing the tissue with an oxidising agent, wherein the meniscal tissue is devoid of cells in the central area of the meniscal tissue and retains its original histoarchitecture.

2. The method according to claim 1 further including ultrasonicating the tissue in a buffered solution prior to step (i).

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein step (i) further comprises repeated cycles of freezing and thawing the meniscal tissue.

4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the repeated cycles of freezing and thawing the meniscal tissue comprises freezing the tissue at a temperature in a range of between −10° C. to −80° C. for a period of time in a range of between two and 24 hours and then subsequently thawing the tissue until the tissue is defrosted.

5. The method according to claim 3 , wherein freezing and thawing the tissue is carried out at least one or more times in the absence of a hypotonic buffer and repeated one or more times when the tissue is immersed in a hypotonic buffer solution.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the donor meniscal tissue is obtainable by removing a whole or a portion of a medial or lateral meniscus from a knee joint of an allogeneic or xenogeneic donor.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein step (ii) comprises a two-stage hypotonic wash at incrementally elevated temperatures.

8. The method according to claim 7 wherein step (iii) comprises incubating the tissue for a period of between one and 3 days and the incubation temperature is above that of the incubation in the hypotonic solution of step (ii).

9. The method according to claim 1 further including washing the tissue in a buffer solution comprising a chelating agent after step (iv).

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the incubation with a solution comprising one or more nuclease enzymes is subsequent to the repeated incubations.

11. The method according to claim 1 further comprising incubating the tissue in a hypertonic solution with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) for a period of time in a range between 12 and 48 hours at a temperature in a range of between 30° C. and 50° C. following the incubation with a solution comprising nucleases.

12. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the tissue is washed in a buffer solution comprising phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and EDTA for a period of time in a range between 12 and 24 hours following incubation in a solution comprising nucleases.

13. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the oxidizing agent employed in washing the tissue with an oxidising agent is peroxyacetic acid (C 2 H 4 O 3 ) or peracetic acid (PAA).

14. The method according to claim 13 , wherein the concentration of PAA is in the range of 0.01-0.5% v/v.

15. The method according to claim 1 further comprising a multi-stage incubation wash in PBS at decreasing temperatures following the washing of the tissue in the presence of an oxidising agent.

16. The method according to claim 1 , wherein ultrasonication is performed in advance of thawing the frozen meniscal tissue or after thawing the frozen meniscal tissue.

17. A method of preparing donor meniscal tissue for subsequent implantation into a host comprising:

(i) ultrasonicating the tissue in a buffered solution;

(ii) repeating cycles of freezing and thawing the tissue;

(iii) incubating the tissue in a hypotonic solution;

(iv) incubating the tissue in a hypotonic solution comprising an anionic detergent;

(v) repeating (iii) and (iv);

(vi) incubating the tissue in a solution comprising at least one nuclease enzyme; and

(vii) washing the tissue with an oxidising agent, wherein the meniscal tissue is devoid of cells in the central area of the meniscal tissue and retains its original histoarchitecture.

18. A product comprising meniscal tissue obtained by the method of claim 17 , wherein the meniscal tissue is devoid of cells in the central area of the meniscal tissue and retains its original histoarchitecture.

19. A meniscal transplantation product that is devoid of cells in the central area of the meniscal tissue and retains its original histoarchitecture.

20. The meniscal product according to claim 19 , wherein the meniscal product comprises a genomic DNA (gDNA) content of between 0 to 20 ng/mg.

21. The meniscal product according to claim 20 , wherein the gDNA content is in a range between zero and 10 ng/mg.

22. The meniscal product according to claim 20 , wherein the gDNA content is in a range between zero and 5 ng/mg.

23. A product comprising meniscal tissue obtained by the method of claim 17 , wherein the meniscal tissue is up to 35 mm in thickness and has an absence or substantial absence of cells in the central area of the meniscal tissue and retains its original histoarchitecture, wherein absence of cells means the tissue is 100% free of cells and substantial absence means the tissue is at least 90% free of cells.

24. The product of claim 23 , wherein a starting material is a whole meniscus.

25. A meniscal transplantation product that is up to 35 mm in thickness and has an absence or substantial absence of cells in the central area of the meniscal tissue and retains its original histoarchitecture, wherein absence of cells means the tissue is 100% free of cells and substantial absence means the tissue is at least 90% free of cells.

26. The product of claim 25 , wherein a starting material is a whole meniscus.

27. A method of treatment of an individual requiring a meniscal transplant comprising replacing a defective or damaged meniscus with the product of claim 18 .