Iopromide- and gadopentetic acid-derived preparates used in MR arthrography may be harmful to chondrocytes

Background Magnetic resonance arthrography, a procedure through which contrast agents containing gadolinium and/or iopromide are administered intra-articularly, has become a useful tool in musculoskeletal diagnosis. Nevertheless, despite being considered safe for systemic use, certain tissue toxicities have been identified for both drugs. In this study, the effects of short-term exposure of human primary chondrocyte cell cultures to gadolinium and/or iopromide contrast agents were examined by assaying for stage-specific embryonic antigen-1 (SSEA-1) protein expression (a chondrogenic differentiation marker), cell viability, toxicity, and proliferation.