Heterogeneity of mesenchymal stem cells in cartilage regeneration: from characterization to application.
review · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 33741999.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41536-021-00122-6 and PMC identifier 7979687.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Articular cartilage is susceptible to damage but hard to self-repair due to its avascular nature. Traditional treatment methods are not able to produce satisfactory effects. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have shown great promise in cartilage repair. However, the therapeutic effect of MSCs is often unstable partly due to their heterogeneity. Understanding the heterogeneity of MSCs and the potential of different types of MSCs for cartilage regeneration will facilitate the selection of superior MSCs for treating cartilage damage. This review provides an overview of the heterogeneity of MSCs at the donor, tissue source and cell immunophenotype levels, including their cytological properties, such as their ability for proliferation, chondrogenic differentiation and immunoregulation, as well as their current applications in cartilage regeneration. This information will improve the precision of MSC-based therapeutic strategies, thus maximizing the efficiency of articular cartilage repair.