Department of Regenerative Biomedicine and Cell Therapy, Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran, Iran.
Arch Iran Med. 2012 Jul;15(7):422-8.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a progressive disorder of the joints caused by gradual loss of articular cartilage, which naturally possesses a limited regenerative capacity. In the present study, the potential of intra-articular injection of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has been evaluated in six osteoarthritic patients.
Six female volunteers, average age of 54.56 years, with radiologic evidence of knee OA that required joint replacement surgery were selected for this study. About 50 ml bone marrow was aspirated from each patient and taken to the cell laboratory, where MSCs were isolated and characterized in terms of some surface markers. About 20-24 × 10(6) passaged-2 cells were prepared and tested for microbial contamination prior to intra-articular injection.
During a one-year follow-up period, we found no local or systemic adverse events. All patients were partly satisfied with the results of the study. Pain, functional status of the knee, and walking distance tended to be improved up to six months post-injection, after which pain appeared to be slightly increased and patients' walking abilities slightly decreased. Comparison of magnetic resonance images (MRI) at baseline and six months post-stem cell injection displayed an increase in cartilage thickness, extension of the repair tissue over the subchondral bone and a considerable decrease in the size of edematous subchondral patches in three out of six patients.
The results indicated satisfactory effects of intra-articular injection of MSCs in patients with knee OA.
骨关节炎（OA）是一种渐进性关节疾病，由关节软骨逐渐丧失引起，而软骨本身的再生能力有限。本研究评估了关节内注射间充质干细胞（MSCs）在 6 例骨关节炎患者中的潜力。
本研究选取了 6 名女性志愿者，平均年龄 54.56 岁，影像学显示膝关节 OA，需要进行关节置换手术。从每位患者中抽取约 50ml 骨髓，并将其带到细胞实验室，分离和鉴定 MSCs 的一些表面标志物。准备约 20-24×10(6)传代 2 细胞，并在关节内注射前进行微生物污染测试。
在为期一年的随访期间，我们未发现局部或全身不良事件。所有患者对研究结果部分满意。疼痛、膝关节功能和步行距离在注射后 6 个月内趋于改善，之后疼痛似乎略有增加，患者的步行能力略有下降。对干细胞注射前后的磁共振成像（MRI）进行比较，发现 6 名患者中有 3 名的软骨厚度增加，修复组织向软骨下骨延伸，水肿性软骨下斑块的大小显著减小。
结果表明，关节内注射 MSCs 对膝骨关节炎患者具有满意的疗效。
