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Countering musculoskeletal degeneration

Exploring how stem cells may help slow musculoskeletal degeneration and support recovery after injury.

About musculoskeletal injuries & degeneration

Musculoskeletal disorders affect the body’s bones, joints, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and supporting structures. They can arise from injuries, chronic conditions, and age-related or wear-and-tear degeneration.1

What drives musculoskeletal degeneration?

Musculoskeletal degeneration may develop through injury, chronic inflammation, repetitive mechanical stress, and age-related tissue breakdown affecting joints, cartilage, tendons, and other supporting structures.1,5-10

Why mesenchymal stem cells are being explored in musculoskeletal injuries

Mesenchymal stem cells are being studied for their ability to reduce chronic low-grade inflammation, support repair of injured or degenerated tissue, rescue injured cells and promote cell survival, and induce new blood vessels.2-4

What we’re starting to see

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Preclinical and clinical studies indicate that mesenchymal stem cells may be effective in treating conditions like osteoarthritis, cartilage defects, rheumatoid arthritis, degenerative disc disease and tendon disorders.5-10

610

Patients



A 2023 review of 15 randomized controlled clinical trials and 11 nonrandomized clinical trials included a sample size of 610 patients in knee osteoarthritis research.5

26 clinical studies

The same review combined 15 randomized controlled clinical trials and 11 nonrandomized clinical trials.5

No serious adverse events reported

The 2023 review article reported no serious adverse events.5

4

Studies



A 2021 systematic review and meta-analysis included four prospective clinical studies in patients with tendon disorders.10

Improvement in pain and function

The tendon disorder meta-analysis showed a significant overall improvement in pain, function, and radiological and arthroscopic parameters.10

How stem cells may interact

How stem cells may interact

Rather than simply replacing damaged tissue, mesenchymal stem cells interact with the body’s repair systems — releasing bioactive molecules and signaling immune cells to shift from damaging inflammation toward healing.2-4

Support repair of injured tissue

Research highlights support for repair of injured or degenerated tissue, along with rescuing injured cells and promoting cell survival.2-4

Reduce inflammation and induce new blood vessels

Research also describes reduced chronic low-grade inflammation and induction of new blood vessels.2-4

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Mesenchymal stem cells work by creating a healing environment — reducing inflammation, protecting existing cells, and signaling repair processes that may help tissues recover.2-4

References

  1. Vigorita VJ. Orthopaedic pathology. 2008.
  2. Krampera M, Le Blanc K. Mesenchymal stromal cells: Putative microenvironmental modulators become cell therapy. Cell Stem Cell. 2021.
  3. Caplan AI, Correa D. The MSC: an injury drugstore. Cell Stem Cell. 2011.
  4. Murphy MB, Moncivais K, Caplan AI. Mesenchymal stem cells: environmentally responsive therapeutics for regenerative medicine. Exp Mol Med. 2013.
  5. Copp G, Robb KP, Viswanathan S. Culture-expanded mesenchymal stromal cell therapy: does it work in knee osteoarthritis? Cell Mol Immunol. 2023.
  6. Kangari P et al. Mesenchymal stem cells: amazing remedies for bone and cartilage defects. Stem Cell Res Ther. 2020.
  7. Ha C-W et al. Intra-articular mesenchymal stem cells in osteoarthritis of the knee: a systematic review. Arthroscopy. 2019.
  8. Sarsenova M et al. Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Based Therapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis. Int J Mol Sci. 2021.
  9. Xie B et al. Clinical efficacy and safety of human mesenchymal stem cell therapy for degenerative disc disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Stem Cells International. 2021.
  10. Cho WS et al. Mesenchymal stem cells use in the treatment of tendon disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective clinical studies. Ann Rehabil Med. 2021.
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