Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Orthop. Nov 18, 2024; 15(11): 1001-1006
Published online Nov 18, 2024. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v15.i11.1001
Adipose-derived stem cells and knee osteoarthritis: New perspectives, old concerns
Eduardo B de Sousa, José Paulo A Gabbi Filho, Vinicius S Gameiro, Leandra S Baptista
Eduardo B de Sousa, Vinicius S Gameiro, Department of General and Specialized Surgery, Fluminense Federal University, Rio de Janeiro 24070-090, Brazil
José Paulo A Gabbi Filho, Department of Orthopaedics, Quinta D’Or Hospital, Rio de Janeiro 20941-150, Brazil
Leandra S Baptista, Duque de Caxias Campus Prof Geraldo Cidade, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 25065-050, Brazil
Author contributions: de Sousa EB, Gabbi Filho JPA, Gameiro VS, and Baptista LS conceived and planned the activities that led to the paper, participated in the review process, and formatting of the article and approved the final version.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Eduardo B de Sousa, MD, PhD, Department of General and Specialized Surgery, Fluminense Federal University, Rua Ataíde Parreiras 100, Rio de Janeiro 24070-090, Brazil. eduardobranco.joelho@gmail.com
Received: May 29, 2024
Revised: October 16, 2024
Accepted: November 5, 2024
Published online: November 18, 2024
Processing time: 170 Days and 2.8 Hours
Abstract

In this editorial, we comment on the paper by Muthu et al published in the recent issue of the journal. This editorial review focusses on the use of adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) in knee osteoarthritis treatment. We discuss the differences between the stromal vascular fraction and microfragmented adipose tissue and highlight the results of clinical studies comparing both treatments and the use of hyaluronic acid, platelet-rich plasma, and bone marrow aspirate concentrate. The use of expanded ADSCs is also discussed; moreover, concerns regarding treatment with ADSCs, particularly the heterogeneity of published studies and the need to standardize protocols to explore clinical potential is explored.

Keywords: Adipose tissue; Adipose-derived stem cells; Stromal vascular fraction; Knee; Osteoarthritis; Microfragmented adipose tissue

Core Tip: Adipose tissue has been described being superior to bone marrow as a source mesenchymal stem cell due to its lower invasiveness and higher cell content. Hence, products derived from the adipose tissue for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis represent a potential perspective of treatment. However, although most papers describe their potential use, papers present heterogenous protocols heterogeneity in for harvesting and delivery represent a concern.