Abstract
The intra‐articular injection of adipose‐derived stem cells (ASCs) is a novel potential therapy for patients with osteoarthritis (OA). However, the efficacy of ASCs from different regions of the body remains unknown. This study investigated whether ASCs from subcutaneous or visceral adipose tissue provide the same improvement of OA. Mouse and human subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue were excised for ASC isolation. Morphology, proliferation, surface markers and adipocyte differentiation of subcutaneous ASCs (S‐ASCs) and visceral ASCs (V‐ASCs) were analysed. A surgically induced rat model of OA was established, and 4 weeks after the operation, S‐ASCs, V‐ASCs or phosphate‐buffered saline (PBS, control) were injected into the articular cavity. Histology, immunohistochemistry and gene expression analyses were performed 6 weeks after ASC injection. The ability of ASCs to differentiate into chondrocytes was assessed by in vitro chondrogenesis, and the immunosuppressive activity of ASCs was evaluated by co‐culturing with macrophages. The proliferation of V‐ASCs was significantly greater than that of S‐ASCs, but S‐ASCs had the greater adipogenic capacity than V‐ASCs. In addition, the infracted cartilage treated with S‐ASCs showed significantly greater improvement than cartilage treated with PBS or V‐ASCs. Moreover, S‐ASCs showed better chondrogenic potential and immunosuppression in vitro. Subcutaneous adipose tissue is an effective cell source for cell therapy of OA as it promotes stem cell differentiation into chondrocytes and inhibits immunological reactions.
Highlights
OA is a common form of chronic degenerative joint disease that is slowly induced in the bone, synovium and muscle by several processes including progressive cartilage deterioration, subchondral bone remodelling, loss of joint space, marginal osteophytosis and loss of joint function [1, 2]
The results revealed that the proliferation capacity of V-adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) was stronger than that of subcutaneous ASCs (S-ASCs) (Fig. 1C and D)
To further investigate the adipocyte differentiation capacity of ASCs derived from SC or VS adipose tissue, cells were cultured in adipogenic differentiation media and adipogenesis was observed by staining with Oil Red O
Summary
OA is a common form of chronic degenerative joint disease that is slowly induced in the bone, synovium and muscle by several processes including progressive cartilage deterioration, subchondral bone remodelling, loss of joint space, marginal osteophytosis and loss of joint function [1, 2]. MSCs are multipotent progenitor cells that were originally identified within the bone marrow in 1967 [6, 7]. They have been applied for the treatment of OA in clinical trials because of their regeneration potential and anti-inflammatory effects [8]. The first reported use of bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) to repair cartilage damage in humans was in 1998 [9]. Researchers have found that the use of BMSCs is an effective and safe way of treating cartilage defects in most cases [10]. The low stem cell yield requiring long expansion time in vitro, pain and possible morbidities during bone marrow aspiration restrict their use in clinical therapy.
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