Equine osteoarthritis: Strategies to enhance mesenchymal stromal cell-based acellular therapies.
Authors: Jammes Manon, Contentin Romain, Cassé Frédéric, Galéra Philippe
Journal: Frontiers in veterinary science
Summary
# Editorial Summary Osteoarthritis remains a significant clinical challenge in equine practice, with cartilage's inherent inability to self-repair leaving us without truly curative treatments—a problem equally relevant to human orthopaedics, making horses valuable research models under a One Health framework. Rather than pursuing whole-cell mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) therapies, recent evidence suggests their therapeutic potency resides predominantly within the secretome, particularly extracellular vesicles (EVs), which sidestep immunological concerns whilst retaining both immunomodulatory and cartilage regenerative properties. The authors examine how multiple factors—from MSC tissue source and in vitro culture methodology through to deliberate exposure to pro-inflammatory conditions that simulate the pathological joint environment—can be optimised to maximise secretome efficacy for osteoarthritis treatment. These acellular approaches represent a meaningful shift in regenerative medicine strategy, offering practitioners a route towards more standardised, safer, and potentially more effective biological interventions than cellular therapies alone. For equine professionals involved in joint disease management, understanding that MSC secretome optimisation now encompasses diverse enhancement strategies—including less conventional techniques alongside conventional conditioning methods—is essential context as acellular therapies move toward clinical application in lameness management.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Acellular MSC therapies (particularly extracellular vesicles) may offer safer alternatives to cellular therapies with easier standardization, storage, and regulatory approval for clinical use.
- •When considering MSC-based treatments, the source tissue, culture methods, and activation state of cells significantly impact therapeutic efficacy for your patients.
- •This emerging research suggests future regenerative treatments for OA may not require live cell administration, potentially improving safety profiles and practical implementation in equine practice.
Key Findings
- •Mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) secretomes, particularly extracellular vesicles, contain most therapeutic properties for osteoarthritis treatment without requiring live cells.
- •Equine osteoarthritis shares similar articular cartilage structure and etiology with humans, making equine models valuable for One Health translational research.
- •MSC immunomodulatory and regenerative properties can be enhanced by recreating pro-inflammatory environments that mimic in vivo pathological joint conditions.
- •Acellular MSC-based therapies represent a promising avenue for osteoarthritis management, addressing the current lack of curative treatments.