Treatment of knee cartilage by cultured stem cells and three dimensional scaffold: a phase I/IIa clinical trial.

Purpose: Damage of the knee cartilage is a common condition manifesting itself mainly by pain and/or swelling that may substantially reduce the quality of life while ultimately leading to osteoarthritis in affected patients. Here, we aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of cultured autologous bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) attached to the 3D Chondrotissue® scaffold by autologous blood plasma coagulation (BiCure® ortho MSCp) in the treatment of knee cartilage defects.

Methods: The primary endpoint of this phase I/IIa clinical trial was to evaluate the safety of the treatment.

[Comparison of Bone Marrow Stromal Cells from Different Anatomical Locations for Evaluation of Their Suitability for Potential Clinical Applications].

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY In patients older than 40 years of age, treatment of chondral lesions of the knee employing microfractures does not provide satisfactory outcomes. One of the contributing factors may be the age-related lack of sufficient mesenchymal stromal cells able to efficiently migrate into the desired site of the lesion. Concomitant application of mononuclear cells (MNCs) or cultured mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) isolated from bone marrow and seeded on a 3D scaffold could provide an alternative enhancing therapeutic efficacy in these patients.

The role of focal adhesion anchoring domains of CAS in mechanotransduction.

CAS is a docking protein, which was shown to act as a mechanosensor in focal adhesions. The unique assembly of structural domains in CAS is important for its function as a mechanosensor. The tension within focal adhesions is transmitted to a stretchable substrate domain of CAS by focal adhesion-targeting of SH3 and CCH domain of CAS, which anchor the CAS protein in focal adhesions.