Identification of mesenchymal progenitor cells in normal and osteoarthritic human articular cartilage

Abstract

Objective. To determine the presence of mesenchymal progenitor cells (MPCs) in human articular cartilage.Methods. Primary cell cultures established from normal and osteoarthritic (OA) human knee articular cartilage were analyzed for the expression of CD105 and CD166, cell surface markers whose coexpression defines mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in bone marrow and perichondrium. The potential of cartilage cells to differentiate to adipogenic, osteogenic, and chondrogenic lineages was analyzed after immunomagnetic selection for CD105؉/CD166؉ cells and was compared with bone marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs).Results. Up to 95% of isolated cartilage cells were CD105؉ and ϳ5% were CD166؉. Conclusion. These findings indicate that multipotential MPCs are present in adult human articular cartilage and that their frequency is increased in OA cartilage. This observation has implications for understanding the intrinsic repair capacity of articular cartilage and raises the possibility that these progenitor cells might be involved in the pathogenesis of arthritis.

Cartilage tissue engineering for degenerative joint disease☆

“…A more recent study has confirmed that de-differentiated adult human chondrocytes represent a population of multipotent cells capable to differentiate into adipogenic, osteogenic, chondrogenic, myogenic and neurogenic lineages [156]. Finally, the presence and characteristics of MSCs isolated from the cartilage of OA patients were examined [157]. While both MSCs isolated from healthy donors and MSCs have been tested directly for the repair of OA knees in humans [159].…”

Sirtuin-1 (SIRT1) Is Required for Promoting Chondrogenic Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells

“…This weakness in cartilage repair capacity highlights the need for novel treatments using tissue engineering and regenerative medicine and new regenerative strategies involving stimulation of articular cartilage repair in vivo (18). Indeed, it has been shown that adult MSC-like progenitors also exist in the cartilage tissue and that their abundance in arthritic cartilage is elevated (19). The lack of regeneration in cartilage can be due to the ongoing inflammatory microenvironment that occurs during the course of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.…”

Study to determine the presence of progenitor cells in the degenerated human cartilage endplates

“…Recently, the presence of progenitor cells in human articular cartilage has been extensively investigated [13][14][15]. Although articular cartilage develops only from embryonic mesenchyme and intervertebral discs develop from the notochord as well, these two share similarities in cellular phenotype and extracellular matrix composition [16].…”