Treatment of osteoarthritis with infrapatellar fat pad derived mesenchymal stem cells in Rabbit

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a progressively debilitating disease that affects mostly cartilage, with associated changes in the bone. Increasing incidence of OA and the aging population coupled with insufficient therapeutic choices has led to focus on the potential of stem cells as a novel strategy for cartilage repair. In this study, we used scaffold free mesenchymal stem cells obtained from infrapatellar fat pad in an experimental animal model of OA by direct intraarticular injection. Mesenchymal stem cells isolated from a 2.8 kg White New Zealand rabbit. The cells were expanded and grown in vitro. OA was induced by unilaterally anterior cruciate ligament transection of knee joints. Twelve weeks after operation, a single dose of 1 million cells suspended in 1 ml of medium was delivered to the injured knee by direct intraarticular injection. Control group received 1 ml of medium without cells. The knees were examined after sixteen and twenty weeks from the surgery. Repairing was investigated radiologically, grossly and histologically using haematoxylin and eosin, Safranin-O and toluidine blue staining. Radiological assessment confirmed development of OA changes after 12 weeks. Rabbits receiving mesenchymal stem cells showed lower degree of cartilage degeneration, osteophyte formation, and Subchondral sclerosis than control group at 20 week after surgery. The quality of cartilage was significantly better in cell-treated group compared with control group after 20 weeks. In conclusion, infrapatellar fat pad derived mesenchymal stem cells could be the promising cell sources for the treatment of OA.