Cell therapy for cartilage defects of the hip

Allogenic Perinatal Tissue for Musculoskeletal Regenerative Medicine Applications: A Systematic Review

Producing tremendous amounts of stress and financial burden on the global patient population and healthcare systems around the world, most current modalities of treatment for musculoskeletal ailments often do not address the etiopathogenetic causes of these disorders. Regenerative medicine for musculoskeletal disorders relies on orthobiologics derived from either allogenic or autologous sources. Multiple drawbacks are associated with autologous sources, including donor-site morbidity, a dearth of studies, and variability in both patient reported and clinical/functional outcomes. On the other hand, allogenic sources address several of these concerns, and continue to be a suitable source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). This review qualitatively reports both the preclinical and clinical outcomes of publications studying the applications of umbilical cord (-derived Wharton's jelly), amniotic suspension allograft, amniotic membrane, and amniotic fluid in musculoskeletal medicine. A systematic review was conducted utilizing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines on studies published between January 2010 and October 2022 that used allogeneic perinatal tissues. Further randomized controlled clinical studies are necessary to properly evaluate the safety and efficacy of these tissues in orthopedic surgery.

An evidence-based update on the management of articular cartilage defects in the hip

Objective

Articular cartilage defects in the hip joint pose a significant surgical challenge and remain one of the most important determinants of success following arthroscopic intervention of the hip. The aim of this literature review was to report on the best available evidence on the various treatment options utilised for articular cartilage defects in the hip.

Material and methods

A comprehensive literature search was performed on PubMed from its inception to October 2021 using the following search strategy: ((hip) and (cartilage or chondral) and (repair or regeneration or restoration or implantation or chondroplasty or chondrogenic)). Two reviewers (KHSK, MG) independently reviewed titles and abstracts to identify articles for the final analysis. Articles were included if they were original research studies (randomised control trials, cohort studies, case-control studies, or comparative studies) on treatment of hip cartilage defects in humans reporting on a minimum of 5 patients. A total of 1172 articles were identified from the initial literature search. Following a thorough selection process, 35 articles were included in the final analysis to synthesise the evidence.

Results

Debridement, microfracture, autologous chondocyte implanatation (ACI) and matrix-induced ACI (MACI) are shown to have good short-to medium-term results. Injectable ACI and MACI have been developed to enable these procedures to be performed via arthroscopic surgery to reduce the post-operative morbidity associated with surgery with promising early results. Large cartilage defects which involved the sub-chondral bone may need the use of osteochondral grafts either autograft or allograft. Newer biological solutions have been developed to potentially deliver a single-stage procedure for hip cartilage injuries but longer-term results are still awaited.

Conclusion

Accurate identification of the extent of the injury helps stratify the defect and plan appropriate treatment. Several surgical techniques have shown good short to medium-term outcomes with ACI, AMIC, mosaicplasty and microfracture. Recent advances have enabled the use of injectable MACI and bioscaffolds which show promising results but in the shorter term. However, one needs to be mindful of the techniques which can be used in their surgical setting with the available resources. In order to thoroughly evaluate the benefits of the different surgical techniques for hip cartilage defects, large scale prospective multi-centre studies are necessary. Perhaps inclusion of such procedures in registries may also yield meaningful and pragmatic results.

[Cartilage regeneration surgery on the hip : What is feasible?]

Localized cartilage defects at the hip are mainly caused by pre-arthritic deformities, particularly by cam-type femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). Timely elimination of symptomatic deformities can prevent further progression such as cartilage defects. As the defects mostly occur in the anterolateral part of the acetabulum, they can be easily treated either by open surgery or by arthroscopy. To date the most effective methods of treatment are bone marrow stimulation, with or without a covering of biomaterials, and autologous chondrocyte transplantation. In selected cases, readaptation of the damaged cartilage can be attempted by biological procedures. In the present article, the findings reported in current studies on these procedures are summarized and discussed in detail. An outlook is given regarding possible future treatment concepts.

Synovial Mesenchymal Stem Cells Derived From the Cotyloid Fossa Synovium Have Higher Self-renewal and Differentiation Potential Than Those From the Paralabral Synovium in the Hip Joint

BACKGROUND

Several studies have shown the relationship between poorer clinical outcomes of arthroscopic femoroacetabular impingement syndrome surgery and focal chondral defects or global chondromalacia/osteoarthritis. Although recent studies described good outcomes after the conjunctive application of synovial mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), none demonstrated the application of synovial MSCs for cartilaginous hip injuries.

PURPOSE

To compare the characteristics of MSCs derived from the paralabral synovium and the cotyloid fossa synovium and determine which is the better source.

STUDY DESIGN

Controlled laboratory study.

METHODS

Synovium was harvested from 2 locations of the hip-paralabral and cotyloid fossa-from 18 donors. The number of cells, colony-forming units, viability, and differentiation capacities of adipose, bone, and cartilage were collected and compared between groups. In addition, real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to assess the differentiation capacity of adipose, bone, and cartilage tissue from both samples.

RESULTS

The number of colonies and yield obtained at passage 0 of synovium from the cotyloid fossa was significantly higher than that of the paralabral synovium ( P < .01). In adipogenesis experiments, the frequency of detecting oil red O-positive colonies was significantly higher in the cotyloid fossa than in the paralabral synovium ( P < .05). In osteogenesis experiments, the frequency of von Kossa and alkaline phosphatase positive colonies was higher in the cotyloid fossa synovium than in the paralabral synovium ( P < .05). In chondrogenic experiments, the chondrogenic pellet culture and the gene expressions of COL2a1 and SOX9 were higher in the cotyloid fossa synovium than in the paralabral synovium ( P < .05).

CONCLUSION

MSCs from the cotyloid fossa synovium have higher proliferation and differentiation potential than do those from the paralabral synovium and are therefore a better source.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Synovial cells from the cotyloid fossa synovium of patients with femoroacetabular impingement syndrome are more robust in vitro, suggesting that MSCs from this source may be strongly considered for stem cell therapy.

Outcomes of cartilage repair techniques for chondral injury in the hip-a systematic review

OBJECTIVE/PURPOSE

The aim of the study was to assess the options of treatment and their related outcomes for chondral injuries in the hip based on the available evidence whilst highlighting new and innovative techniques.

METHODS

A systematic review of the literature from PubMed (Medline), EMBASE, Google Scholar, British Nursing Index (BNI), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and Allied and Complementary Medicine Database (AMED) was undertaken from their inception to March 2017 using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Clinical outcome studies, prospective/retrospective case series and case reports that described the outcome of cartilage repair technique for the chondral injury in the hip were included. Studies on total hip replacement, animal studies, basic studies, trial protocols and review articles were excluded.

RESULTS

The systematic review found 21 relevant papers with 596 hips. Over 80% of the included studies were published in or after 2010. Most studies were case series or case reports (18 studies, 85.7%). Arthroscopy was used in 11 studies (52.4%). The minimum follow-up period was six months. Mean age of the participants was 37.2 years; 93.5% of patients had cartilage injuries of the acetabulum and 6.5% of them had injuries of the femoral head. Amongst the 11 techniques described in the systematic review, autologous matrix-induced chondrogenesis, osteochondral autograft transplantation and microfracture were the three frequently reported techniques.

CONCLUSION

Over ten different techniques are available for cartilage repair in the hip, and most of them have good short- to medium-term outcomes. However, there are no robust comparative studies to assess superiority of one technique over another, and further research is required in this arena.