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First published online July 26, 2007
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2006-0311v1
25/11/2964    most recent
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Submitted on May 24, 2006
Accepted on June 18, 2007

TRANSLATIONAL AND CLINICAL RESEARCH

Injectable Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy for Large Cartilage Defects- A Porcine Model

Kevin BL LEE 1, James HP HUI 1*, Im Chim SONG 1, Lenny ARDANY 1, Eng Hin LEE 1

1 A collaboration between the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, National University of Singapore and the Department of Experimental Surgery, Singapore General Hospital

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jameshui{at}nus.edu.sg.


  Abstract

Introduction: Current techniques in biological resurfacing of cartilage defects require an open arthrotomy or arthroscopy and involve the direct transplantation of isolated cells and/or scaffolds, or whole tissue grafts with chondrogenic potential onto the cartilage defect. Our study investigates the possibility of direct intra-articular injection of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) suspended in hyaluronic acid (HA) as an alternative to the much more invasive methods currently available.

Methods: A partial-thickness (without penetration of the subchondral bone) cartilage defect was created in the medial femoral condyle of an adult mini-pig. Mesenchymal stem cells from the iliac crest marrow of the same pig harvested in a separate procedure and suspended in 2ml of Synvisc® (Hylan G-F 20) were injected intra-articularly after the creation of the defect. This was followed by 2 more injections of Synvisc® (HA) at weekly intervals. Either saline or HA was injected into the knees of the controls. The pigs were sacrificed at 6 and 12 weeks for morphological and histological analysis.

Results: The cell-treated groups showed improved cartilage healing both histologically and morphologically at 6 and 12 weeks compared to both controls.

Conclusion: The use of intra-articular injections of mesenchymal stem cells suspended in HA is a viable option for treating large cartilage defects. This would be further explored in clinical trials.

 Key Words. cartilage defects, minimally-invasive, mesenchymal stem cells, hyaluronic acid, injectable






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