Synovial membrane mesenchymal stem cells: past life, current situation, and application in bone and joint diseases

Abstract

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be isolated from not only bone marrow, but also various adult mesenchymal tissues such as periosteum, skeletal muscle, and adipose tissue. MSCs from different tissue sources have different molecular phenotypes and differentiation potential. Synovial membrane (SM) is an important and highly specific component of synovial joints. Previous studies have suggested that the synovium is a structure with a few cell layers thick and consists mainly of fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS), which forms a layer that lining the synovial membrane on the joint cavity and synovial fluid through cell-cell contact. In recent years, studies have found that there are also mesenchymal stem cells in the synovium, and as an important part of the mesenchymal stem cell family, it has strong capabilities of cartilage forming and tissue repairing. This article reviews the sources, surface markers, subtypes, influencing factors, and applications in inflammatory joints of synovial membrane mesenchymal stem cells (SM-MSCs) in recent years, aiming to clarify the research status and existing problems of SM-MSCs.

Recent Developments in Clinical Applications of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis

“…Like AT-MSCs, SM-MSCs can be extracted from various sites, including the cotyloid fossa or paralabral synovium, with site-specific traits ( 40 ). Interestingly, SM-MSCs have extensive proliferative ability, multilineage differentiation potential, and low immunogenicity relative to other MSCs ( 39 , 41 ). Due to higher expression of type II collagen, aggrecan, and SRY-box transcription factor 9 in SM-MSCs, they have demonstrated higher chondrogenic potential than MSCs from other sources and are expected to be more widely used for cartilage repair and joint homeostasis treatments ( 42 – 44 ).…”

“…Due to higher expression of type II collagen, aggrecan, and SRY-box transcription factor 9 in SM-MSCs, they have demonstrated higher chondrogenic potential than MSCs from other sources and are expected to be more widely used for cartilage repair and joint homeostasis treatments ( 42 – 44 ). Moreover, a study by Sakaguchi et al concluded that SM-MSCs and BM-MSCs have greater osteogenic and adipogenic potentials than other MSCs; however, SM-MSCs foster relatively low-density expansions in vitro compared to BM-MSCs ( 41 , 45 ).…”

Rejuvenated Stem/Progenitor Cells for Cartilage Repair Using the Pluripotent Stem Cell Technology

“…MSCs from bone marrow (and periosteum) are considered to be originated from skeletal stem cells (SSCs) that are bone/bone marrow-resident multipotent skeletogenic cells defined in a way similar for hematopoietic stem cells: i.e., by sub-fractionation of bone and bone marrow cells using fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) without expansion culture, and in vivo validation of fractionated cells (e.g., multi-lineage [bone, bone marrow stroma, cartilage, and fat] differentiation in kidney capsule), different from the way MSCs is defined: i.e., expansion culture followed by in vitro validation, as described above [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Synovial MSCs are implicated in cartilage homeostasis [ 17 ]: e.g., increase in their number in synovial fluid in response to joint destabilization and cartilage degeneration [ 18 , 19 ]. Recently, synovium-resident multipotent skeletogenic cells have also been defined by FACS without expansion culture, although biological validation was performed in vitro [ 20 ].…”

Chondrogenic Potential of Dental-Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells

“…Cartilage tissue engineering provides a new strategy by transplanting chondrogenic cells along with biocompatible 3D scaffolds and micromolecules to produce engineered cartilage tissue [6,8]. Chondrogenic cells are derived from mesenchymal stromal cells from various sources, namely, bone marrow [9], adipose tissue [10], placenta [11], amniotic fluid [12], Wharton jelly [13], umbilical cord [14], synovium [15], hair follicles [16], dental pulp [17], and gingiva [18]. The tissue engineering triad comprises mesenchymal stromal cells, scaffolds, and biomolecules such as growth factors and cytokines [8,19].…”