Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cell-free treatments for osteoarthritis in dogs and what to expect
By Sharun, Khan et al.·Published in The veterinary quarterly·2022·ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, India·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Cell-free therapy for canine osteoarthritis: current evidence and prospects.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A dog with osteoarthritis, which causes joint pain and lameness, may benefit from new treatments involving mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). However, research shows that using live MSCs directly in the joints can be ineffective because the joint fluid can harm the cells. Instead, scientists are exploring cell-free therapies, like using the substances that MSCs produce, which could avoid the problems associated with live cell treatments. While this approach shows promise, more studies are needed to confirm how well it works and how safe it is for dogs with osteoarthritis.
People also search for: dog osteoarthritis treatment · stem cell therapy for dogs · canine joint pain relief
Abstract
Osteoarthritis is a progressive degenerative disease affecting joints. It is associated with structural and functional changes that cause lameness and pain in dogs. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are considered an ideal therapeutic candidate for treating inflammatory musculoskeletal conditions due to their paracrine and immunomodulatory characteristics. They are delivered intravenously or as intra-articular injections for treating canine osteoarthritis. However,studies have confirmed that the osteoarthritic synovial fluid is cytotoxic to cultured MSCs. Therefore, intra-articular transplantation of viable MSCs should be considered counterproductive since it minimizes cellular viability. Similarly, the intravenous administration of MSCs limits the therapeutic effects on the organ of interest since most of the administered cells get trapped in the lungs. Therefore, cell-free therapeutic strategies such as conditioned media and extracellular vesicles (EVs) can potentially become the future of MSC-based therapy in managing canine osteoarthritis. It overcomes the limitations of MSC-based therapy, such as tumor differentiation, immunogenicity, and pulmonary embolization, and has advantages like low immunogenicity and off-shelf availability. In addition, they eliminate problems such as low cell survival, transmission of infections, and unpredictable behavior of the transplanted MSCs, thereby acting as a safe alternative to cell-based therapeutics. However, very limited data is available on the efficacy and safety of cell-free therapy using MSCs for managing canine osteoarthritis. Therefore, large-scale, multicentric, randomized clinical controlled trials are required to establish the therapeutic efficacy and safety of MSC-based cell-free therapy in clinical cases of canine osteoarthritis.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36336651/