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REVIEW article

Front. Aging
Sec. Molecular Mechanisms of Aging
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fragi.2024.1509014
This article is part of the Research Topic Emerging Role of Extracellular Vesicles in Musculoskeletal Diseases and Potential Therapeutic Interventions View all articles

Mesenchymal stem cells and their exosomes mitigate osteoarthritis by restoring the balance between proinflammatory Teffs and Tregs

Provisionally accepted
Dewei Zhao Dewei Zhao *Tianhao Liu Tianhao Liu Chunxiao Ran Chunxiao Ran Xiuzhi Zhang Xiuzhi Zhang *Fan Yang Fan Yang Qiang Guo Qiang Guo Jiahui Yang Jiahui Yang
  • Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of Dalian University, Dalian, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease caused by chronic inflammation that damages articular cartilage. In addition to the wear and tear of joints, aberrant remodelling driven by a significant presence of inflammatory mediators within the joint is one of the key mechanisms in the pathogenesis of OA. Among these factors, hyperactivation of Teffs subsets plays a crucial role in promoting this pathological process. The immune imbalance between proinflammatory CD4 + effector T cells (proinflammatory Teffs) and Tregs could be a crucial factor in the pathogenesis of OA. Therefore, correcting the imbalance of Tregs/proinflammatory Teffs may slow or inhibit the occurrence and development of OA, which could be a potential target for the treatment of OA. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) possess anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties, regulating both adaptive and innate immunity through mechanisms involving soluble factors such as IDO, PGE2, and TGF-β, as well as cell-to-cell contact and exosomes. correcting the imbalance between Tregs and proinflammatory Teffs may be one of the mechanisms of MSCs in the treatment of OA.Therefore, this review aims to summarize the relationship between OA and the immune imbalance between Tregs and proinflammatory Teffs, the immunoregulatory role of Tregs in OA, and the role of MSCs and their exosomes in correcting the imbalance between Tregs and proinflammatory Teffs.

    Keywords: Osteoarthritis, Regulatory T Cell, mesenchymal stem cell, effector T cell, immunomodulatory

    Received: 10 Oct 2024; Accepted: 08 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhao, Liu, Ran, Zhang, Yang, Guo and Yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Dewei Zhao, Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of Dalian University, Dalian, China
    Xiuzhi Zhang, Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of Dalian University, Dalian, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.