Cell migration: implications for repair and regeneration in joint disease

Abstract

Connective tissues within the synovial joints are characterized by their dense extracellular matrix and sparse cellularity. With injury or disease, however, tissues commonly experience an influx of cells owing to proliferation and migration of endogenous mesenchymal cell populations, as well as invasion of the tissue by other cell types, including immune cells. Although this process is critical for successful wound healing, aberrant immune-mediated cell infiltration can lead to pathological inflammation of the joint. Importantly, cells of mesenchymal or haematopoietic origin use distinct modes of migration and thus might respond differently to similar biological cues and microenvironments. Furthermore, cell migration in the physiological microenvironment of musculoskeletal tissues differs considerably from migration in vitro. This Review addresses the complexities of cell migration in fibrous connective tissues from three separate but interdependent perspectives: physiology (including the cellular and extracellular factors affecting 3D cell migration), pathophysiology (cell migration in the context of synovial joint autoimmune disease and injury) and tissue engineering (cell migration in engineered biomaterials). Improved understanding of the fundamental mechanisms governing interstitial cell migration might lead to interventions that stop invasion processes that culminate in deleterious outcomes and/or that expedite migration to direct endogenous cell-mediated repair and regeneration of joint tissues.

Meniscus-Derived Matrix Bioscaffolds: Effects of Concentration and Cross-Linking on Meniscus Cellular Responses and Tissue Repair

“…However, this relationship between increased repair strength and increased MDM concentration likely would not continue at much higher concentrations. Higher percentage scaffolds have an increased density of ECM components that could negatively influence scaffold porosity and thus cellular infiltration and migration, and likely lead to decreased integrative repair capabilities [56]. This challenge has been observed in studies using whole decellularized menisci for allograft bioscaffolds [57,58].…”

Chikungunya virus infection impairs the function of osteogenic cells

“…Interestingly, these cells are susceptible even at very low MOI (data not shown). Studies show that BMSCs migrate to the joint space during injury or disease, so it would be interesting to investigate whether CHIKV can infect BMSCs in vivo and whether infection can affect in vivo osteogenesis [24].…”

Engineering of Hydrogel Materials with Perfusable Microchannels for Building Vascularized Tissues

“…Chemical gradient formed during mass transport is quite important in vivo. It is well‐known that chemical gradient in vivo could drive chemotactic cell migration, which is related with various physiological and pathological processes, such as inflammation, embryonic morphogenesis, cancer metastases, and so on . Diffusing inside the hydrogel, chemicals also form a tunable diffusion gradient in the hydrogel, which can be utilized to investigate physiological/pathological phenomena in vitro.…”