Table 1 Cartilage-derived pluripotent cell-based therapies for joint cartilage repair
From: Expression and function of cartilage-derived pluripotent cells in joint development and repair
Cartilage | Cell | Source | Species | Model | Mode of action | Study/evaluation | In vivo/in vitro | Result | Conclusion | Year | Author |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hyaline cartilage | Autologous chondroprogenitor cells | Articular cartilage | Equine | 15 mm cartilage defects on the medial trochlear ridge of the femur | A graft: autologous chondroprogenitor cells transplanted in a fibrin matrix | Lameness (pain), arthroscopic, radiographic, gross, histologic, and immunohistochemical analyses | In vivo | Improved the amount of type II collagen and decreased central osteophyte formation | Had significantly better repair tissue | 2015 | Frisbie et al. [44] |
Chondroprogenitors | Articular cartilage | Goat | A circular 6 mm defect in the lateral femoral condyle | A graft: Chondro-Gide® membrane seeded with goat chondroprogenitors | Immunohistological and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analyses, routine histology and immunocytochemistry analyses, repair tissue grading | In vivo | Positive collagen type II and aggrecan labeling, repair scores for chondroprogenitors ranged from 7 (abnormal) to 10 (nearly normal) | Formed a cartilage-like repair tissue | 2010 | Williams et al. [6] | |
Chondroprogenitor cells | Hyaline cartilage | Sheep | Growth plate defects at the margin of the medial aspect of the proximal tibiae | A graft: endochondrally ossifiying cartilage from the peripheral margin of the secondary center of ossification and the adjacent zone of Ranvier tissue | Radiological assessment of longitudinal growth, histological analysis | In vivo | Endochondral ossification continued and no shortening no deformity resulted | Survived and persisted as cartilaginous tissue but was unable to restore, repair or function as a growth plate | 1994 | Wirth et al. [45] | |
Chondroprogenitor cells | Articular cartilage | Bovine | Thigh muscle of severe-combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice | Intramuscular injection | Cryosectioning and PCR analyses | In vivo | Expressed sox9 and type II collagen | Survived but failed to create a robust cartilage pellet | 2014 | Marcus et al. [46] | |
Meniscus | Cartilage-derived progenitor cells (C-PCs) | Knee articular cartilage | Human | A radial tear in the inner anterior horn of the rat meniscus | An explant organ culture | Tissue immunohistochemistry and staining, messenger RNA expression, cell surface marker, stem cell differentiation and western blot analyses | In vitro | Elevated sox9 expression, maintained lower expression of type X collagen, resisted cellular hypertrophy and terminal differentiation, mobilized in response to chemokine signaling SDF-1/CXCR4 axis | Had the reparative ability to bridge and reintegrate torn meniscal fibrocartilage | 2019 | Jayasuriya et al. [47] |
Meniscus-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MMSCs) | Medial and lateral menisci | Rabbit | A wound with 1 mm diameter in the center of each meniscus | An explant organ culture and a graft: the Matrigel with cells used for implantation into nude rat skin | Histochemistry, immunocytochemistry, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blotting analyses | In vivo and in vitro | A pronounced tendency to chondrogenic differentiation, homing traits, more formation of cartilage-related proteins | Served as an alternative cell therapy in repairing damaged meniscus | 2015 | Ding and Huang [19] | |
Human meniscus stem/progenitor cells (hMeSPCs) | Meniscus | Human | The removal of the anterior half of the rat medial meniscus and an experimental OA model | Intra-articular injection | Evaluation of multipotent differentiation potential, colony formation assay and expression analysis of meniscus-related genes, chemotaxis assay, cell labeling and detection, histology, transmission electron microscopy and immunostaining analyses | In vivo | More neo-tissue formation and better-defined shape but also resulted in more rounded cells and matured extracellular matrix, reduced expression of OA markers such as collagen I, collagen X, and hypoxia-inducible factor 2a (HIF-2a) but increased expression of collagen II | Enhanced the regeneration of injured meniscus through induced cell homing via the SDF-1/CXCR4 chemokine axis | 2014 | Shen et al. [18] | |
Allogenous meniscus-derived stem cells (MeSCs) | Meniscus | Rabbit | The removal of the anterior half of the rabbit medial meniscus and a rabbit early experimental OA model | Intra-articular injection | Cell labeling and detection, radiographic evaluation, histology, immunohistochemistry, transmission electron microscopy, real-time PCR, biomechanical evaluation | In vivo | Did not elicit immunological rejection, but promoted neo-tissue formation with better-defined shape and more matured extracellular matrix, further protected joint surface cartilage and maintained joint space | Evoked a new strategy for articular cartilage protection and meniscus regeneration | 2013 | Shen et al. [17] | |
Chondrocyte-derived progenitor cells (CDPCs) | Knee articular cartilage | Human | Large knee cartilage defects (6–13 cm2) in 15 patients | A graft: a collagen type I/III scaffold seeded with the CDPCs | Clinical evaluation, MRI evaluation, histology, pain and functional evaluation | In vivo | Significantly improved IKDC and Lysholm scores, the presence of chondrocyte-like cells and hyaline cartilage-like structure and matrix, reduced knee pain and swelling, and disappeared locking sensation | Supported the possibility of using in vitro the amplified CDPCs, for joint repair | 2016 | Jiang et al. [48] | |
TMJ condyle | Fibrocartilage stem cells (FCSCs) | TMJ condyle | Rat | A 2.5 mm perforation in the rabbit TMJ disc bilaterally and secondary OA | Intra-articular injection of the Wnt inhibitor sclerostin (SOST) | Histology, histomorphometry, and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analyses | In vivo | Sustained the FCSC pool, improved TMJ gross morphology and proteoglycan distribution, reduced joint swelling | Exploited endogenous FCSCs to regenerate and repair cartilage | 2016 | Embree et al. [22] |