Importance

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Abstract

The invention provides an article of manufacture comprising a substantially non-immunogenic knee meniscal xenograft for implantation into humans. The invention further provides methods for preparing a knee meniscal xenograft by removing at least a portion of a meniscus from a non-human animal to provide a xenograft; washing the xenograft in saline and alcohol; and subjecting the xenograft to at least one treatment selected from the group consisting of exposure to ultraviolet radiation, immersion in alcohol, ozonation, and freeze/thaw cycling. In addition to or in lieu of the above treatments, the methods include a cellular disruption treatment and glycosidase digestion of carbohydrate moieties of the xenograft followed by treatment of carbohydrate moieties of the xenograft with capping molecules. The invention also provides articles of manufacture produced by one or more of the above-identified methods of the invention. The invention further provides a meniscal xenograft for implantation into a human including a portion of a meniscus from a non-human animal, wherein the portion includes extracellular matrix and substantially only dead cells. The matrix and dead cells have substantially no surface .alpha.-galactosyl moieties and have capping molecules linked to at least a portion of surface carbohydrate moieties. Each of the xenografts of the invention is substantially non-immunogenic and has substantially the same mechanical properties as the respective native meniscus.

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First Claim