title: Treatment outcomes of alginate-embedded allogenic mesenchymal stem cells versus autologous chondrocytes for the repair of focal articular cartilage defects in a rabbit model.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) represent a promising alternative form of cell-based therapy for cartilage injury. However, the capacity of MSCs for chondrogenesis has not been fully explored. In particular, there is presently a lack of studies comparing the effectiveness of MSCs to conventional autologous chondrocyte (autoC) treatment for regeneration of full-thickness cartilage defects in vivo.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Treatment with allogenic undifferentiated MSCs (alloMSCs) results in superior cartilage tissue regeneration profiles when compared with autoC for repair of focal articular cartilage defects.
  
  
  METHODS
  Controlled laboratory study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Full-thickness articular cartilage defects were created on the weightbearing surface of the medial femoral condyles in both knees of New Zealand White rabbits (N = 30). Six weeks after the defect was induced, the right knee was treated with either alloMSCs (n = 12) or autoC (n = 18), while the left knee remained untreated (control). The rabbits were sacrificed at 6 months after treatment for assessment of cartilage tissue regeneration, which included the Brittberg morphologic score, histologic grading by O'Driscoll score, and quantitative analysis of glycosaminoglycans per total protein content.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Apart from significantly higher Brittberg scores in the alloMSC treatment group (8.8 ± 0.8) versus the autoC treatment group (6.6 ± 0.8) (P = .04), both treatments showed similar cartilage regenerative profiles. All outcome measures were significantly higher in the treatment groups compared with their respective controls (P < .05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  AlloMSCs have similar effectiveness as autoC for repair of focal cartilage defects. Both treatments resulted in superior tissue regeneration compared with untreated defects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results have an implication of supporting the potential use of MSCs for cartilage repair after sports injuries or diseases, in view of similar efficacy but less patient morbidity and potential cost savings as compared with conventional autoC therapy.
authors.affiliation: Tissue Engineering Group, National Orthopaedic Surgery Centre of Excellence for Research and Learning (NOCERAL), Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. liangxin28@gmail.com
authors.forename: Liang Xin
authors.initials: LX
authors.lastname: Tay
authors.forename: Raja Elina
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.forename: Havva
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dashtdar
authors.forename: K W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Tay
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Masjuddin
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ab-Rahim
authors.forename: Pan Pan
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Chong
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Selvaratnam
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kamarul
mesh_terms: D000464:Alginates / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000637:transplantation*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans / Q000378:metabolism; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D045164:Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D011817:Rabbits; D011897:Random Allocation; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous; D014945:Wound Healing
chemical_list: D000464:Alginates; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans