Sodium hyaluronate combined with human urine-derived stem cells in repairing traumatic cartilage defect：an experimental study

Abstract:

Objective：To investigate the effect of a complex solution system of sodium hyaluronate and human urine-derived stem cells （hUSCs） in repairing articular cartilage by intra-articular injection in beagles with knee cartilage defect. Methods：The centrifugation and adherence method was used to isolate hUSCs from fresh urine of healthy adults，and primary cell culture and subculture were performed. Surface markers and multipotential differentiation were identified. Sodium hyaluronate was used as a cell carrier and mixed with the fourth-generation hUSCs to prepare cell suspension. A total of 12 beagles were used to establish a model of full-thick－ness cartilage defect with a diameter of 5 mm at the medial and lateral epicondyles of the femur in the knee joint. At 3 weeks after the model being established，the beagles were equally and randomly divided into sodium hyaluronate cell suspension treatment group，sodium hyaluronate treatment group，and normal saline blank control group，and injection into the knee joint was performed accord－ingly. The beagles were sacrificed at 12 weeks after injection，and related samples were collected. Gross specimens were used to ob－serve the morphological changes of cartilage defect，and HE staining and toluidine blue staining were performed for sections to evaluate the repair of knee cartilage. Results：At 12 weeks after treatment，the sodium hyaluronate cell suspension treatment group had a sig－nificantly better improvement in knee cartilage defect than the sodium hyaluronate treatment group and the normal saline blank control group，and gross evaluation showed that in the sodium hyaluronate cell suspension treatment group，the area of cartilage defect was almost filled with newly formed cartilage-like tissue and had a smooth surface. HE staining and toluidine blue staining of sections showed that compared with the sodium hyaluronate treatment group and the normal saline blank control group，the sodium hyaluronate cell suspension treatment group had the columnar arrangement of cartilage cells and good coverage of hyaline cartilage tissue in the area of defect，which was fully inte－grated with the adjacent cartilage tissue and was slightly thinner than the adjacent normal cartilage tissue. Conclusion：The complex solution system of sodium hyaluronate and hUSCs has a marked effect in repairing articular cartilage defect，which provides an ex－perimental basis for a new treatment regimen for cartilage defect.