About this Research Topic
Symptomatic cartilage lesions and early osteoarthritis produce a significant clinical and economic burden. Cartilage lesions have high prevalence, reaching 63% of general population and 36% of athletes. Articular cartilage tissue presents limited cellularity, leading to restrained healing capability. Articular cartilage is at high risk of damage during initial trauma and may progress to osteoarthritis (OA). OA is characterized by progressive degeneration of articular cartilage, subchondral bone remodelling, bone marrow lesions and synovitis.
The prevalence of OA is 22.7% in the USA population. It is predicted that more than 50 million people will suffer from OA in the USA by 2020, making it the major cause of morbidity and physical limitation among individuals aged over forty. Current therapy for OA is directed toward symptomatic treatment with a focus on pain management, and is not able to promote regeneration of cartilage or to attenuate joint inflammation.
Despite the numerous techniques available today, complete healing of damaged cartilage and the consistent reproduction of normal hyaline cartilage is not possible. For these reasons, continuous drug therapies and secondary surgeries are common, and new therapeutics for articular cartilage lesions is of elevated clinical relevance.
More recently, mesenchymal stem cell-based therapy has received considerable attention, because of the feasibility of handling the tissue harvest. Moreover, these cells present minor immunological rejection due to the low surface expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigens, efficient engraftment and long-term coexistence in the host.
This Research Topic seeks innovative manuscripts on Mesenchymal Stem Cell therapy for cartilage repair which are able to translate basic research to clinical practice. Topics involving the following themes are welcome:
• Stem cells and biomaterials;
• MSCs and immunologic system;
• Pro-chondrogenic MSCs stimuli;
• Allogeneic MSCs;
• Business model and market;
• Regulatory affairs.
Original Research, Systematic Reviews, Clinical and Pre-clinical trials, Consensus and Updates, Methods and Good Manufacture Practice (GMP) techniques are requested.
The prevalence of OA is 22.7% in the USA population. It is predicted that more than 50 million people will suffer from OA in the USA by 2020, making it the major cause of morbidity and physical limitation among individuals aged over forty. Current therapy for OA is directed toward symptomatic treatment with a focus on pain management, and is not able to promote regeneration of cartilage or to attenuate joint inflammation.
Despite the numerous techniques available today, complete healing of damaged cartilage and the consistent reproduction of normal hyaline cartilage is not possible. For these reasons, continuous drug therapies and secondary surgeries are common, and new therapeutics for articular cartilage lesions is of elevated clinical relevance.
More recently, mesenchymal stem cell-based therapy has received considerable attention, because of the feasibility of handling the tissue harvest. Moreover, these cells present minor immunological rejection due to the low surface expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigens, efficient engraftment and long-term coexistence in the host.
This Research Topic seeks innovative manuscripts on Mesenchymal Stem Cell therapy for cartilage repair which are able to translate basic research to clinical practice. Topics involving the following themes are welcome:
• Stem cells and biomaterials;
• MSCs and immunologic system;
• Pro-chondrogenic MSCs stimuli;
• Allogeneic MSCs;
• Business model and market;
• Regulatory affairs.
Original Research, Systematic Reviews, Clinical and Pre-clinical trials, Consensus and Updates, Methods and Good Manufacture Practice (GMP) techniques are requested.
Keywords: Cartilage, Osteoarthritis, Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Tissue Engineering, Cell Therapy
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