Effect of Human Dental Pulp Stem Cells on the Regeneration of Articular Cartilage: a Study in an Ovine Model of Osteoarthritis. (R-7249)

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative and inflammatory condition of synovial joints in which loss of cartilage matrix occurs. Despite advances in technologies, durable restoration of damaged articular cartilage is still an unachieved goal. This is mainly caused by a reduced vascularity, limited cell populations and dense extracellular matrix. Data suggest that chondrocyte implantation could be efficient for treating chondral lesions. However, the use of adult autologous chondrocytes is associated with several drawbacks. To overcome these problems, the use of advanced biological tissue engineering techniques utilizing stem cells forms an area of large interest in order to make cartilage regeneration possible. Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been frequently used to treat chondral lesions in preclinical settings. However, because the isolation of BMMSCs is invasive and painful, we would like to use human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs). Furthermore, hDPSCs have been reported to be immune-modulatory. Therefore, we hypothesize that hDPSCs improve the functional outcome in OA via immunomodulatory effects and stimulation of cartilage regeneration. We will focus on longitudinal monitoring of functional improvement in an ovine model of OA, combined with assessing the in vivo biodistribution of the stem cells within the joint cavity. Furthermore, the effects of this stem cell therapy on the immunologic response will be evaluated.

Keywords:STEM CELLS

Disciplines:Systems biology, Orthopaedics, Surgery, Nursing

Project type:Collaboration project