Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells: Are They a Good Therapeutic Strategy for Osteoarthritis?

Abstract

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a major cause of disability in elderly population around the world. More than one-third of people over 65 years old shows either clinical or radiological evidence of OA. There is no effective treatment for this degenerative disease, due to the limited capacity for spontaneous cartilage regeneration. Regarding the use of regenerative therapies, it has been reported that one option to restore degenerated cartilage are adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs). The purpose of this review is to describe and compare the efficacy of ASCs versus other therapies in OA. Methods: Recent studies have shown that ASCs exert paracrine effects protecting against degenerative changes in chondrocytes. According to the above, we have carried out a review of the literature using a combination of osteoarthritis, stem cells, and regenerative therapies as keywords. Results: Conventional pharmacological therapies for OA treatment are considered before the surgical option, however, they do not stop the progression of the disease. Moreover, total joint replacement is not recommended for patients under 55 years, and high tibia osteotomy (HTO) is a viable solution to address lower limb malalignment with concomitant OA, but some complications have been described. In recent years, the use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as a treatment strategy for OA is increasing considerably, thanks to their capacity to improve symptoms together with joint functionality and, therefore, the patients’ quality of life. Conclusions: ASC therapy has a positive effect on patients with OA, although there is limited evidence and little long-term follow-up.

Neurospheres Induced from Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cells as a New Source of Neural Progenitor Cells

“…As of 17 September 2019, there were 994 MSC clinical trials registered at clinicaltrials.org (either completed or recruiting), of which 176 (17.7% of all MSC trials) were using human adipose-derived MSCs. The unique advantage of using ADSCs in regenerative medicine is that patients usually have excess fatty tissue and these cells can be easily obtained using minimally invasive procedures such as conventional or hydrodynamic liposuction, thus enabling autologous cell replacement therapy [12][13][14][15] .…”

Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Immunology for Efficient and Safe Treatment of Osteoarthritis

“…Mesenchymal stem cells have been used for the treatment of OA based on their chondrogenic potential or their ability to promote cartilage repair through stimulation of endogenous cells and immunomodulation. In addition MSCs have significant paracrine activity, whereby they secrete a wide array of growth factors, cytokines, and chemokines that mediate various effects on chondrocytes including stimulation of proliferation, autophagy, and ECM synthesis (anabolic activity), as well as the inhibition of apoptosis, senescence, and the production of pro-inflammatory and catabolic factors (Figure 1) (for reviews, see references Damia et al, 2018;Harrell et al, 2019b).…”

“…This is because it is hard to track MSCs after transplantation due to the lack of reliable MSC-specific markers in vivo. Subsequent findings indicate that MSCs promote tissue repair through the production of a myriad of trophic factors, including growth factors, chemokines, cytokines and anti-oxidants, rather than direct differentiation and cell replacement (Becerra et al, 2011;Damia et al, 2018;Harrell et al, 2019b;Jimenez-Puerta et al, 2020).…”

Emerging Gene-Editing Modalities for Osteoarthritis

“…MSCs have a short lifespan but can secrete paracrine factors that may be beneficial in tissue regeneration [ 81 , 82 ]. In addition to BM-MSCs, MSCs derived from other sites such as adipose tissue can be isolated, expanded, characterized, and used to regenerate cartilage [ 83 , 84 ]. However, MSCs tend to form mechanically inferior fibrocartilage instead of the glassy, hyaline cartilage that covers the ends of bones at articulating joints [ 85 ].…”