Study offers potential for regenerative bone therapy

Arthritis and most rheumatic diseases often result in inflammation, cartilage and bone erosions. While inflammation may be controlled, and perhaps even eliminated, with early aggressive treatment, few therapeutic approaches offer hope for repairing tissue once the damage has been done.

One promising strategy involves the use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). MSCs are capable of extensive self-renewal and adaptable to forming all kinds of connective tissues. While detected in several adult human tissues, MSCs have traditionally been obtained from bone marrow, an invasive, painful, and costly process. However, this new study indicates there is therapeutic promise of MSCs derived from the thick membrane covering the surface of bones

The present study involved samples of periosteal cells being obtained from the tibia of 12 human donors, ranging in age from 24 to 83 years. To assess their multipotency beyond the laboratory, the periosteal cells were then injected into one of three animal models: mice, with the goal of muscle regeneration; goats, with the goal of developing cartilage; and mice, with the goal of bone formation.

Regardless of donor age, periosteal cells expanded extensively, steadily maintaining growth curves over at least 30 population doublings. They also displayed the hallmarks of MSCs, including long telomeres, the sections of DNA at the end of a chromosome. What’s more, the results of the animal experiments proved that expanded periosteal MSCs can contribute to muscle regeneration and form cartilage when implanted into a joint surface defect.

The bone tissue retrieved from the last group of mice was partly human, which indicates the potential of these cells to build bone as well.