Intra-articular Injection Of Human Adipose-derived Mesenchymal Progenitor Cells For The Treatment Of Knee Osteoarthritis

Background Intra-articular injection of autologous adipose-derived stem cells(ADSCs)into the osteoarthritic knee is a known procedure to promote cartilage regeneration and improve knee function.Derived from human pluripotent stem cells,human adipose-derived mesenchymal progenitor cells(ha MPCs)also have the potential to repair damaged tissues or organs and are non-tumorigenic.However,to date,few studies have used ha MPCs to repair cartilage defects in human.This study,therefore,aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy ha MPCs in patients with knee osteoarthritis.Method We enrolled 60 patients with two different kinds of knee articular cartilage defect: 30 with medial femoral-tibial condyle cartilage defect and 30 with trochlear-patellar cartilage defect.The patients were further randomized into three treatment groups: microfracture group;microfracture and intra-articular injection of hyaluronic acid(HA);or microfracture in combination with intra-articular injection of HA and ha MPCs.Outcome measurements included three parts: safety assessment,functional outcomes,radiological and arthroscopic evaluation.Results There was no treatment-related adverse event observed.Evaluation with Western Ontario and Mc Master Universities Osteoarthritis index(WOMAC)and short form-36(SF-36)measures showed the best outcomes in the MSR group.Radiological and arthroscopic evaluation consistently confirmed that cartilage regeneration and the decrease of articular cartilage defects were significantly better in the MSR group.Conclusions Intra-articular injections of ha MPCs promoted cartilage regeneration in knee OA patients without inducing adverse events.These data demonstrated that intra-articular injections of ha MPCs are safe and effective in treating knee OA.