Abstract
The repair of articular cartilage is challenging owing to the restriction in the ability of articular cartilage to repair itself. Therefore, cell supplementation therapy is possible cartilage repair method. However, few studies have verified the efficacy and safety of cell supplementation therapy. The current study assessed the effect of exercise on early the phase of cartilage repair following cell supplementation utilizing mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) intra-articular injection. An osteochondral defect was created on the femoral grooves bilaterally of Wistar rats. Mesenchymal stromal cells that were obtained from male Wistar rats were cultured in monolayer. After 4 weeks, MSCs were injected into the right knee joint and the rats were randomized into an exercise or no-exercise intervention group. The femurs were divided as follows: C group (no exercise without MSC injection); E group (exercise without MSC injection); M group (no exercise with MSC injection); and ME group (exercise with MSC injection). At 2, 4, and 8 weeks after the injection, the femurs were sectioned and histologically graded using the Wakitani cartilage repair scoring system. At 2 weeks after the injection, the total histological scores of the M and ME groups improved significantly compared with those of the C group. Four weeks after the injection, the scores of both the M and ME groups improved significantly. Additionally, the scores in the ME group showed a significant improvement compared to those in the M group. The improvement in the scores of the E, M, and ME groups at 8 weeks were not significantly different. The findings indicate that exercise may enhance cartilage repair after an MSC intra-articular injection. This study highlights the importance of exercise following cell transplantation therapy.
Highlights
Articular cartilage repair is one of the most challenging issues in the orthopedic field, owing to the poor intrinsic healing capacity of articular cartilage.[1]
Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) represent an attractive cell source for cartilage repair based on their multipotency as well their ability to undergo chondrogenic differentiation, they secrete some kind of cytokine, they are easy isolate, and they have an immune tolerance.[10, 11]
The repaired tissues in the ME group were thicker than those in the control group (C group), and high staining intensity was observed for IHC of type II collagen
Summary
Articular cartilage repair is one of the most challenging issues in the orthopedic field, owing to the poor intrinsic healing capacity of articular cartilage.[1] In the clinical setting, debridement, [2] microfracture,[3] and autologous tissue transplantation therapy [4] have been used to treat cartilage defects. Some problems, such as the lack of compatibility with host tissue, exist.[5] The cartilage regenerated by most of those methods is similar to fibrocartilage.[6,7,8] The recently introduced cell supplementation therapy is one of the methods expected to treat cartilage defects. We aimed to assess the effect of exercise after the intra-articular injection of MSCs on osteochondral defects in a rat model
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