Department of Translational Medicine and for Romagna, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy.
Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy.
Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Jan 15;22(2):809. doi: 10.3390/ijms22020809.
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are the main cell players in tissue repair and thanks to their self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation capabilities, they gained significant attention as cell source for tissue engineering (TE) approaches aimed at restoring bone and cartilage defects. Despite significant progress, their therapeutic application remains debated: the TE construct often fails to completely restore the biomechanical properties of the native tissue, leading to poor clinical outcomes in the long term. Pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) are currently used as a safe and non-invasive treatment to enhance bone healing and to provide joint protection. PEMFs enhance both osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation of MSCs. Here, we provide extensive review of the signaling pathways modulated by PEMFs during MSCs osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation. Particular attention has been given to the PEMF-mediated activation of the adenosine signaling and their regulation of the inflammatory response as key player in TE approaches. Overall, the application of PEMFs in tissue repair is foreseen: (1) in vitro: to improve the functional and mechanical properties of the engineered construct; (2) in vivo: (i) to favor graft integration, (ii) to control the local inflammatory response, and (iii) to foster tissue repair from both implanted and resident MSCs cells.
间充质干细胞（MSCs）是组织修复的主要细胞参与者，由于其自我更新和多能分化能力，它们作为组织工程（TE）方法的细胞来源引起了广泛关注，旨在修复骨和软骨缺损。尽管取得了重大进展，但它们的治疗应用仍存在争议：TE 构建物通常无法完全恢复天然组织的生物力学特性，从而导致长期临床效果不佳。脉冲电磁场（PEMFs）目前被用作一种安全且非侵入性的治疗方法，以增强骨愈合并提供关节保护。PEMFs 可增强 MSCs 的成骨和成软骨分化。在这里，我们广泛综述了 PEMFs 在 MSCs 成骨和成软骨分化过程中调节的信号通路。特别关注 PEMF 介导的腺苷信号激活及其对炎症反应的调节，作为 TE 方法中的关键因素。总体而言，预计 PEMFs 将应用于组织修复：（1）在体外：改善工程化构建体的功能和机械性能；（2）在体内：（i）促进移植物整合，（ii）控制局部炎症反应，（iii）促进植入和驻留 MSCs 细胞的组织修复。
