Abstract
Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic joint disease, characterized by articular cartilage degradation, subchondral bone hardening, and inflammation of the whole synovial joint. There is no pharmacological treatment in slowing down OA progression, leading to costly surgical interventions eventually. Cell therapy using chondrocytes or progenitor cells from different sources has been reported in clinical trials for OA management with some success, but outcomes are varied. Peripheral blood derived mesenchymal stem cells (PB-MSCs) are promising cells owing to their easy collection, superior migration, and differentiation potentials. In the current study, we evaluated the effect of intra-articular administration of PB-MSCs on the progression of OA in mice.Methods: C57BL/6J mice (8-10 weeks old male) were subjected to destabilization of the medial meniscus surgeries (DMM) on their right joints following protocols as previously reported. The mice after DMM were randomly treated with saline (vehicle control), PB-MSCs, or adipose tissue derived MSCs (AD-MSCs) (n = 7 per group). The mice treated with sham surgery were regarded as sham controls (n = 7). PB-MSCs and AD-MSCs were harvested and cultured according to previous published protocols, and pre-labeled with BrdU for 48 h before use. PB-MSCs or AD-MSCs (5 × 105 cells/mouse; passage 3~5) were injected into the right knee joints thrice post-surgery (except sham surgery group). The mice were euthanized at 8 weeks post-surgery and knee joint samples were collected for micro-CT and histological examinations.Results: PB-MSCs administration significantly reduced hardening of subchondral bone comparing to vehicle controls. Safranin O staining showed that PB-MSCs treatment ameliorated degeneration of articular cartilage, which is comparable to AD-MSCs treatment. The expression of catabolic marker MMP13 was significantly reduced in articular cartilage of PB-MSCs-treated groups comparing to vehicle controls. Co-expression of BrdU and Sox9 were detected, indicating injected PB-MSCs differentiated towards chondrocytes in situ. Reduced level of IL-6 in the peripheral sera of PB-MSCs- and AD-MSCs-treated mice was also determined. Conclusions: Repetitive administration of PB-MSCs or AD-MSCs halted OA progression through inhibiting cartilage degradation and inflammation. PB-MSCs may become a promising cell source for cartilage tissue repair and alleviation of OA progression.
Attenuation of Trauma-induced Osteoarthritis by Repetitive Intra-articular Administration of Peripheral Blood Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells
