Arthritis Treatment: What Are New Developments in the Use of Stem Cells to Treat Osteoarthritis?

Burgeoning interest in the use of regenerative techniques to treat osteoarthritis has caused an explosion in both the clinical application of this treatment as well as the development of new laboratory discoveries.

There are two major types of cartilage. Hyaline cartilage is the tougher of the two and covers the ends of long bones inside joints. The makeup of hyaline cartilage is basically that of chondrocyte (cartilage) cells which sit inside an extracellular matrix. Hyaline cartilage provides shock absorbing properties and also resists the tremendous shear forces that are generated with the activities of daily living. A small amount of synovial fluid secreted by the lining cells of the joint provide lubrication and nourishment to the joint.

The second type of cartilage is fibrocartilage. Examples would be the menisci in the knees and the labrum in the shoulder and hip. This type of cartilage is softer and has less shock absorbing capacity than hyaline cartilage.

The ubiquitous condition what affects most Baby Boomers is osteoarthritis, which is a disease of hyaline cartilage. Essentially, alterations of cartilage metabolism causes premature wearing away of hyaline cartilage. This is accompanied by local inflammation as well as changes in the underlying bone.

Hyaline cartilage injury often results in the formation of fibrocartilage, the weaker of the two types of cartilage. And because cartilage lacks a blood supply, another consequence of cartilage injury is the development of osteoarthritis.

What has intrigued scientists, then, is the possibility that stem cells may be used to regenerate hyaline cartilage.

While direct application of stem cell technology is still controversial, the promise it holds is undoubtedly exciting to researchers.

For example, at Osaka University School of Medicine, scientists have been able to take cells from the skin of mice and by treating these cells with special proteins, transformed these skin cells into chondrocytes- cartilage cells.

Another exciting discovery made by researchers at the University of Oregon Health & Science University is that male mice from a strain called MRL/MpJ have the innate ability to repair their own knee cartilage. Why these mice can do this is still a puzzle but if the secret can be unlocked perhaps this can be applied to humans also.

While human studies are still lagging behind, small studies are showing promising results. Readers who are interested in learning more can read a paper from our center: Wei N, Beard S, Delauter S, Bitner C, Gillis R, Rau L, Miller C, Clark T. Guided Mesenchymal Stem Cell Layering Technique for Treatment of Osteoarthritis of the Knee. J Applied Res. 2011; 11: 44-48