Non-homologous use of adipose-derived cell and tissue therapies: Osteoarthritis as a case study

Efficacy of stromal vascular fraction for knee osteoarthritis: A prospective, single-centre, non-randomized study with 2 years follow-up

BACKGROUND

Current osteoarthritis (OA) treatments focus on symptom relief without addressing the underlying disease process. In regenerative medicine, current treatments have limitations. In regenerative medicine, more research is needed for intra-articular stromal vascular fraction (SVF) injections in OA, including dosage optimization, long-term efficacy, safety, comparisons with other treatments, and mechanism exploration.

AIM

To compare the efficacy of intra-articular SVF with corticosteroid (ICS) injections in patients with primary knee OA.

METHODS

The study included 50 patients with Kellgren-Lawrence grades II and III OA. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either a single intra-articular SVF injection (group A) or a single intra-articular ICS (triamcinolone) (group B) injection. Patients were followed up at 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months. Visual analog score (VAS) and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) scores were administered before the procedure and at all follow-ups. The safety of SVF in terms of adverse and severe adverse events was recorded. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS Version 26.0, IBM Corp, Chicago, IL, United States.

RESULTS

Both groups had similar demographics and baseline clinical characteristics. Follow-up showed minor patient loss, resulting in 23 and 24 in groups A and B respectively. Group A experienced a notable reduction in pain, with VAS scores decreasing from 7.7 to 2.4 over 24 months, compared to a minor reduction from 7.8 to 6.2 in Group B. This difference in pain reduction in group A was statistically significant from the third month onwards. Additionally, Group A showed significant improvements in knee functionality, with IKDC scores rising from 33.4 to 83.10, whereas Group B saw a modest increase from 36.7 to 45.16. The improvement in Group A was statistically significant from 6 months and maintained through 24 months.

CONCLUSION

Our study demonstrated that intra-articular administration of SVF can lead to reduced pain and improved knee function in patients with primary knee OA. More adequately powered, multi-center, double-blinded, randomised clinical trials with longer follow-ups are needed to further establish safety and justify its clinical use.

Adipose-derived regenerative therapies for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis

Knee osteoarthritis is a degenerative condition with a significant disease burden and no disease-modifying therapy. Definitive treatment ultimately requires joint replacement. Therapies capable of regenerating cartilage could significantly reduce financial and clinical costs. The regenerative potential of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) has been extensively studied in the context of knee osteoarthritis. This has yielded promising results in human studies, and is likely a product of immunomodulatory and chondroprotective biomolecules produced by MSCs in response to inflammation. Adipose-derived MSCs (ASCs) are becoming increasingly popular owing to their relative ease of isolation and high proliferative capacity. Stromal vascular fraction (SVF) and micro-fragmented adipose tissue (MFAT) are produced by the enzymatic and mechanical disruption of adipose tissue, respectively. This avoids expansion of isolated ASCs ex vivo and their composition of heterogeneous cell populations, including immune cells, may potentiate the reparative function of ASCs. In this editorial, we comment on a multicenter randomized trial regarding the efficacy of MFAT in treating knee osteoarthritis. We discuss the study's findings in the context of emerging evidence regarding adipose-derived regenerative therapies. An underlying mechanism of action of ASCs is proposed while drawing important distinctions between the properties of isolated ASCs, SVF, and MFAT.

A Novel Method for Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cell Isolation and Cryopreservation

Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are isolated from abundant adipose tissue and have the capacity to differentiate into multiple cell lineages. ADSCs have raised big interest in therapeutic applications in regenerative medicine and demonstrated to fulfill the criteria for a successful cell therapy. There are several methods for isolation of ADSCs from adipose tissue and cryopreservation of ADSCs. Here, novel methods for the isolation and cryopreservation of ADSCs are presented and focused. Microscopic pieces of adipose tissue were placed on transwell inserts, and the ADSCs were induced to migrate to the lower wells for 1 week. We compared the properties of our ADSCs with those isolated by enzymatic digestion and enzyme-free method of culture plate, and our ADSCs were found to be more stable and healthier. In addition, we proposed a novel cryoprotectant solution (FNCP) containing pectin and L-alanine, which was compared with standard cryoprotectant solution. Overall, our methods proved more useful for ADSCs isolation than other methods and did not require consideration of "minimal manipulation" by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Furthermore, our FNCP did not contain dimethyl sulfoxide and fetal bovine serum, therefore stable storage is possible in xeno-free and animal-free cryopreservation solutions.

A Closed-system Technology for Mechanical Isolation of High Quantities of Stromal Vascular Fraction from Fat for Immediate Clinical Use

Adipose tissue stromal vascular fraction (SVF) is increasingly used in the clinic. SVF separation from fat by enzymatic disruption is currently the gold standard for SVF isolation. However, enzymatic SVF isolation is time-consuming (~1.5 h), costly and significantly increases the regulatory burden of SVF isolation. Mechanical fat disruption is rapid, cheaper, and less regulatory challenging. However, its reported efficacy is insufficient for clinical use. The current study evaluated the efficacy of a novel rotating blades (RBs) mechanical SVF isolation system.

Methods

SVF cells were isolated from the same lipoaspirate sample (n = 30) by enzymatic isolation, massive shaking (wash), or engine-induced RBs mechanical isolation. SVF cells were counted, characterized by flow cytometry and by their ability to form adipose-derived stromal cells (ASCs).

Results

The RBs mechanical approach yielded 2 × 10⁵ SVF nucleated cells/mL fat, inferior to enzymatic isolation (4.17 × 10⁵) but superior to cells isolating from fat by the "wash" technique (0.67 × 10⁵). Importantly, RBs SVF isolation yield was similar to reported yields achieved via clinical-grade enzymatic SVF isolation. RBs-isolated SVF cells were found to contain 22.7% CD45^-CD31^-CD34⁺ stem cell progenitor cells (n = 5) yielding quantities of multipotent ASCs similar to enzymatic controls.

Conclusions

The RBs isolation technology provided for rapid (<15 min) isolation of high-quality SVF cells in quantities similar to those obtained by enzymatic digestion. Based on the RBs platform, a closed-system medical device for SVF extraction in a rapid, simple, safe, sterile, reproducible, and cost-effective manner was designed.

Osteoarthritis: pathogenic signaling pathways and therapeutic targets

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic degenerative joint disorder that leads to disability and affects more than 500 million population worldwide. OA was believed to be caused by the wearing and tearing of articular cartilage, but it is now more commonly referred to as a chronic whole-joint disorder that is initiated with biochemical and cellular alterations in the synovial joint tissues, which leads to the histological and structural changes of the joint and ends up with the whole tissue dysfunction. Currently, there is no cure for OA, partly due to a lack of comprehensive understanding of the pathological mechanism of the initiation and progression of the disease. Therefore, a better understanding of pathological signaling pathways and key molecules involved in OA pathogenesis is crucial for therapeutic target design and drug development. In this review, we first summarize the epidemiology of OA, including its prevalence, incidence and burdens, and OA risk factors. We then focus on the roles and regulation of the pathological signaling pathways, such as Wnt/β-catenin, NF-κB, focal adhesion, HIFs, TGFβ/ΒΜP and FGF signaling pathways, and key regulators AMPK, mTOR, and RUNX2 in the onset and development of OA. In addition, the roles of factors associated with OA, including MMPs, ADAMTS/ADAMs, and PRG4, are discussed in detail. Finally, we provide updates on the current clinical therapies and clinical trials of biological treatments and drugs for OA. Research advances in basic knowledge of articular cartilage biology and OA pathogenesis will have a significant impact and translational value in developing OA therapeutic strategies.