Harnessing cell-material interactions to control stem cell secretion for osteoarthritis treatment

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common debilitating joint disease, yet there is no curative treatment for OA to date. Delivering mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) as therapeutic cells to mitigate the inflammatory symptoms associated with OA is attracting increasing attention. In principle, MSCs could respond to the pro-inflammatory microenvironment of an OA joint by the secretion of anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, immunomodulatory and pro-regenerative factors, therefore limiting pain, as well as the disease development. However, the microenvi-ronment of MSCs is known to greatly affect their survival and bioactivity, and using tailored biomaterial scaffolds could be key to the success of intra-articular MSC-based therapies. The aim of this review is to identify and discuss essential characteristics of biomaterial scaffolds to best promote MSC secretory functions in the context of OA. First, a brief introduction to the OA physiopathology is provided, followed by an overview of the MSC secretory functions, as well as the current limitations of MSC-based therapy. Then, we review the current knowledge on the effects of cell-material interactions on MSC secretion. These considerations allow us to define rational guidelines for next-generation biomaterial design to improve the MSC-based therapy of OA.

Automated summary

Currently, there is no curative treatment for osteoarthritis (OA), but using mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) to alleviate the inflammatory symptoms of OA is gaining attention. MSCs can respond to the pro-inflammatory microenvironment of an OA joint and secrete factors that have anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, immunomodulatory, and pro-regenerative effects. However, the microenvironment of MSCs greatly influences their survival and bioactivity, and using tailored biomaterial scaffolds is crucial for the success of intra-articular MSC-based therapies.