Suitable characteristics in the selection of human allogeneic chondrocytes donors to increase the number of viable cells for cartilage repair

Abstract

Autologous chondrocyte implantation has shown optimal long-term outcomes in the treatment of cartilage lesions. The challenge for a single-stage approach lies in obtaining sufficient number of cells with high viability. The answer could lie in supplementing or replacing them with allogenic chondrocytes coming from cadaveric donors. In the present work, we aimed to compare the number of viable cells isolated from cartilage of live and cadaveric donors and to determine the suitable characteristics of the best donors. A total of 65 samples from donors aged from 17 to 55 years, either women or men, were enrolled in this study (33 living vs. 32 cadaveric). The mean time of hours from death to processing samples in cadaveric donors was higher compared to live donors (64.3 ± 17.7 vs. 4.6±6.4). The number of isolated chondrocytes per gram of cartilage was higher in cadaveric donors (5.389 × 10 6 compared to 3.067 × 10 6 in living donors), whereas the average of cell viability was comparable in both groups (84.16% cadaveric, 87.8% alive). It is possible to obtain viable chondrocytes from cartilage harvested from cadaveric donors, reaching a similar cell number and viability to that obtained from the cartilage of living donors.

Treatment of knee cartilage lesions in 2024: From hyaluronic acid to regenerative medicine

“…Another way to avoid two‐stage procedures for chondrocyte implantation is to use allogeneic chondrocyte therapies [ 49 ]. It is possible to obtain viable chondrocytes from cartilage harvested from cadaveric donors to obtain similar cell numbers and viability compared to cells of living donors [ 79 ].…”

An Osteocartilaginous 3D Printing Implant Using a Biocompatible Polymer and Pre-Differentiated Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Sheep

“…Currently, there are no pharmacological treatments that can modify the course of OA; it can only be managed by reducing inflammation and pain, surgically correcting deviations from the mechanical axis and/or joint instability, filling in cartilaginous defects, or, in more severe cases, performing a prosthetic joint replacement [7,8]. At the present time, some authors have proposed the use of cadaveric cartilage from young donors as a source of cells for the repair of joint surface lesions [9][10][11]; other cellular sources that have been proposed involve the use of the synovial membrane [12] and Hoffa-fat-derived mesenchymal stem cells with a macroporous scaffold and biological macromolecules for the repair of meniscus cartilage [13], including for subchondral bone regeneration. The osteogenic potential of monosodium urate crystals on mesenchymal stem cells isolated from the synovium is being explored [14].…”