Deng Zhantao, Zeng Xiaoli, Lin Bofu, Chen Lixuan, Wu Jiwei, Zheng Jie, Ma Yuanchen, Lyu Feng-Juan, Zheng Qiujian
Department of Orthopedics, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Guangdong Xiangxue Stem Cell Regenerative Medicine Technology Co., Ltd, Guangzhou, China.
Heliyon. 2024 Sep 28;10(19):e38384. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e38384. eCollection 2024 Oct 15.
Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UCMSCs) are a novel stem-cell source to treat osteoarthritis (OA). Here we investigated the therapeutic effects of UCMSCs injection strategies on knee OA in a rabbit model. Thirty OA rabbits randomly received normal saline, a single dose of 1 × 10 UCMSCs, or three injections of 1 × 10 UCMSCs at 2, 4, 6 weeks. Articular cartilages were collected after 8 weeks. Macroscopic and histological assessments indicated that intra-articular injection of UCMSCs, both single and multiple injection, significantly reduced the formation of periarticular osteophytes and articular cartilage degeneration when compared with the control. Furthermore, both UCMSCs injections increased the expression of chondrogenic markers in the articular cartilage, and reduced the levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in synovium. Micro-CT showed significant reduction of sub-chondral bone degeneration and osteophytes in the multiple-injection group compared to the control and single-injection group. Taken together, intra-articular injection of UCMSCs for OA treatment is safe and effective. Single and multiple injection of UCMSCs had comparable reparative effect on cartilage lesions, while multiple injection of UCMSCs further exerted effect on enhancing subchondral bone volume.
人脐带间充质干细胞（UCMSCs）是治疗骨关节炎（OA）的一种新型干细胞来源。在此，我们在兔模型中研究了UCMSCs注射策略对膝骨关节炎的治疗效果。30只骨关节炎兔随机接受生理盐水、单剂量1×10 UCMSCs或在第2、4、6周分三次注射1×10 UCMSCs。8周后收集关节软骨。宏观和组织学评估表明，与对照组相比，关节腔内注射UCMSCs，无论是单次还是多次注射，均显著减少了关节周围骨赘的形成和关节软骨退变。此外，两种UCMSCs注射均增加了关节软骨中软骨生成标志物的表达，并降低了滑膜中TNF-α和IL-6的水平。显微CT显示，与对照组和单次注射组相比，多次注射组的软骨下骨退变和骨赘明显减少。综上所述，关节腔内注射UCMSCs治疗OA是安全有效的。单次和多次注射UCMSCs对软骨损伤具有相当的修复效果，而多次注射UCMSCs对增加软骨下骨体积有进一步作用。
