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J Knee Surg 2021; 34(13): 1476-1485
DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1710366
Original Article

Synovial Fluid Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Knee Arthritis and Cartilage Defects: A Review of the Literature

William Fang 
1   Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
,
ZhiTao Sun
2   Department of Medicine, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, China
,
Xiao Chen
1   Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
,
Bo Han
3   Department of Surgery, USC Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California
,
C. Thomas Vangsness  Jr.
1   Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
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Abstract

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are adult stem cells that have the ability to self-renew and differentiate into several cell lineages including adipocytes, chondrocytes, tenocytes, bones, and myoblasts. These properties make the cell a promising candidate for regenerative medicine applications, especially when dealing with sports injuries in the knee. MSCs can be isolated from almost every type of adult tissue. However, most of the current research focuses on MSCs derived from bone marrow, adipose, and placenta derived products. Synovial fluid-derived MSCs (SF-MSCs) are relatively overlooked but have demonstrated promising therapeutic properties including possessing higher chondrogenic proliferation capabilities than other types of MSCs. Interestingly, SF-MSC population has shown to increase exponentially in patients with joint injury or disease, pointing to a potential use as a biomarker or as a treatment of some orthopaedic disorders. In this review, we go over the current literature on synovial fluid-derived MSCs including the characterization, the animal studies, and discuss future perspectives.

Keywords

synovial fluid - mesenchymal stem cells - cartilage regeneration - osteoarthritis


Publication History

Received: 08 October 2019

Accepted: 21 March 2020

Article published online:
13 May 2020

© 2020. Thieme. All rights reserved.

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