Cell-based therapy for the treatment of focal articular cartilage lesions: a review of six years of studies in a Malaysian University Medical Centre

ABSTRACT

Autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) is a significant technique that has gained widespread use for the treatment of focal articular cartilage damage. Since its inception in 2004, the Tissue Engineering Group (TEG) of the Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya has been dedicated to carrying out extensive research on this cell-based therapy. The objective of this report, comprising one clinical case report, six animal studies and one laboratory study, is to summarise and discuss TEG’s key findings. On the whole, we observed that the ACI technique was effective in regenerating hyaline-like cartilage in treated defects. Autologous chondrocytes and mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) were found to produce comparable tissue repair irrespective of the state of MSC differentiation, and the use of alginate-based scaffolding and oral pharmacotherapy (Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulphate) was shown to enhance ACI-led tissue repair. ACI is suggested to be an efficient therapeutic option for the treatment of articular cartilage defects of the knee.