Cartilage Regeneration With Fetal-derived Tissue

An in vitro study has suggested that fetal cartilage-derived progenitor cells are a more active source of cells in cartilage cell replacement therapy compared to mesenchymal stem cells.

AsianScientist (Oct. 7, 2015) – A Korean-led study has discovered that fetal cartilage-derived progenitor cells (FCPC) are superior to mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) in cell transplantation for cartilage repair treatments. However, ethical implications surrounding the use of fetal-derived tissue may impede its application in the clinic. Their work was published in Cell Transplantation.

The self-repair of injured cartilage is difficult for several reasons. Firstly, there is a lack of blood supply to the tissue, hampering therapeutic efforts aimed at cartilage repair. On the other hand, surgical repair techniques often lead to the formation of fibrocartilage, which is weaker and less durable. Although cell transplantation aimed at cartilage repair has been carried out using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), varying outcomes have resulted, despite the propensity of MSCs to proliferate and differentiate.

In an effort to obtain better cartilage repair outcomes from cell transplantation, a research team from Ajou University conducted a study comparing the regenerative capabilities of transplanted MSCs derived from young donors (ages 8-25) to transplanted FCPCs. Their in vitro studies suggest that the FCPCs are “more active” in terms of proliferation and differentiation than the MSCs, and provided superior cartilage repair.

MSCs have the ability to self-renew and differentiate into a variety of specialized cell types, such as osteoblasts (cells contributing to bone formation), chondrocytes (cartilage cells), adipocytes (fat cells), myocardiocyte-like cells (the muscle cells that make up the cardiac muscle), and neuron-like cells (nervous system cells). However, MSCs have not provided optimal results when used to repair cartilage.

“We demonstrated the potential of FCPCs as a novel source for cartilage regeneration,” said study co-author Dr. Min Byoung-Hyun of the Ajou University School of Medicine. “However, ethical concerns must be discussed in depth before FCPCs can be considered for therapeutic use.”

According to the researchers, Korea has well-defined guidelines and regulations concerning the use of fetal tissues, which mandate that all tissues must be obtained from fetuses deceased in utero from natural causes, thus avoiding controversy.

“Securing a good source of FCPCs while following the ethical and legal guidelines should be one of the first tasks for the commercialization of FCPCs,” wrote the researchers, who reported that the FCPCs showed yields approximately 24 times greater than those produced by MSCs.

“Fetal cartilage is an immature tissue that is not fully differentiated into cartilage, and the FCPCs may possess some stem cell properties, such as a self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation ability that exceeds that of bone marrow-derived MSCs from the young donors,” explained Min.

The researchers concluded that “to an extent” FCPCs have stem cell properties and are similar to MSCs, but because they possess greater proliferation and differentiation capabilities than MSCs they should be considered for therapeutic applications.

“While our study suggests that FCPCs are a potential cell source for cartilage regeneration, it is necessary to further identify their characteristics and therapeutic utility for additional clinical applications,” the researchers concluded.

The article can be found at: Choi et al. (2015) Fetal Cartilage-Derived Cells have Stem Cell Properties and are a Highly Potent Cell Source for Cartilage Regeneration.

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Source: Cognizant Communication Corporation; Photo: Shutterstock.
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