Anterior cruciate ligament injury and stem cell therapy / 中国组织工程研究

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) has been reported to hold a self-recovery potential, which may be related to certain cytokines and biological factors, such as stem cells or progenitor cells.OBJECTIVE: To review the literatures about the relationship between mesenchymal stem cells and ACL injuries, and understand the potential of stem cells or progenitor cells differentiating into ACL, thus providing a basis for the clinical use of mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of ACL injury. METHODS:A computer-based online research of PubMed databases was performed to collect articles including reviews, clinical trials and basic studies using the English keywords of ACL regeneration, stem/progenitor cells, mesenchymal stem cells. Forty-five eligible articles were included finally. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:In recent years, there are a lot of studies addressing the treatment of ACL injuries and muscle/bone regeneration, but the use of stem cells is still far from the clinical requirements. The source of stem cells suitable for the ACL regeneration and their most suitable injection points are under discussion. Although the mesenchymal stem cells have been reported to successfully repair ACL injury in animal models, either trophic factors of stem cells or these cells themselves improving the regeneration remains unclear.