The superior regenerative potential of muscle-derived stem cells for articular cartilage repair is attributed to high cell survival and chondrogenic potential.

Three populations of muscle-derived cells (PP1, PP3, and PP6) were isolated from mouse skeletal muscle using modified preplate technique and retrovirally transduced with BMP4/GFP.  , the PP1 cells (fibroblasts) proliferated significantly slower than the PP3 (myoblasts) and PP6 cells (muscle-derived stem cells); the PP1 and PP6 cells showed a superior rate of survival compared with PP3 cells under oxidative stress; and the PP6 cells showed significantly superior chondrogenic capabilities than PP1 and PP3 cells. , the PP6 cells promoted superior cartilage regeneration compared with the other muscle-derived cell populations. The cartilage defects in the PP6 group had significantly higher histological scores than those of the other muscle-derived cell groups, and GFP detection revealed that the transplanted PP6 cells showed superior cell survival and chondrogenic capabilities compared with the PP1 and PP3 cells. PP6 cells (muscle-derived stem cells) are superior to other primary muscle-derived cells for use as a cellular vehicle for BMP4-based gene therapy to heal full-thickness osteo-chondral defects. The superiority of the PP6/muscle-derived stem cells appears to be attributable to a combination of increased rate of survival and superior chondrogenic differentiation capacity.