Cells from the nose could help repair damaged knee cartilage

Cartilage cells harvested from patients’ own noses have been used to produce cartilage transplants for the treatment of the knees of 10 adults whose cartilage was damaged by injury, says research in The Lancet. Two years after reconstruction, most recipients reported improvements in pain, knee function, and quality of life. It is hoped the technique will lead to new future treatments for people with osteoarthritis.Whilst the research is promising, however, the effectiveness of the procedure needs to be assessed in larger trials compared to conventional treatments and with longer follow up before any firm conclusions can be drawn about its use in routine clinical practice.

The study

Swiss experts used engineered cartilage tissue grown from patients’ own cartilage cells from the nose (which have a unique capacity to grow and form new cartilage tissue).

The small study included 10 people aged 18–55 years with full-thickness cartilage lesions of the knee. The researchers extracted a small biopsy specimen (6mm in diameter) from the nasal septum under local anaesthetic. The harvested cells were multiplied. The expanded cells were then cultured for two weeks, generating a 30mm x 40mm cartilage graft. The graft was then cut into the right shape and used to replace damaged cartilage that was surgically removed from the recipient’s knee.

Two years later, MRI scans showed the development of new tissue with similar compositional properties of native cartilage. Moreover, nine recipients (one was excluded because of several independent sports injuries) reported substantial improvements in the use of their knee and in the amount of pain compared to before surgery. No adverse reactions were reported.

The implications

“Our findings confirm the safety and feasibility of cartilage grafts engineered from nasal cells to repair damaged knee cartilage,” says lead author Prof Ivan Martin. “But use of this procedure in everyday clinical practice is still a long way off as it requires rigorous assessment of efficacy in larger groups of patients and the development of manufacturing strategies to ensure cost effectiveness. Moreover, in order to extend the potential use of this technique to older people or those with degenerative cartilage pathologies like osteoarthritis, a lot more fundamental and pre-clinical research work needs to be done.”

Click here to read the original research.

For more in-depth features, interviews and information, subscribe to Arthritis Digest magazine, a popular title that’s published six times a year. Click here for the digital version or tel 0845 643 8470 to order your had copy. You’ll know what your doctor is talking about, what new drugs are in the pipeline and be up to date on helpful products.

—