Sex difference found in cartilage repair strategy

Monday December 15th, 2008

By Jane Collingwood

Scientists have found sex differences in stem cells which may be used for regenerating damaged cartilage.

It is already known that there are sex-related differences in osteoarthritis, which is a condition that often causes cartilage damage. Recently, experts have investigated the possibility of using muscle-derived stem cells to grow new healthy cartilage.

Dr Johnny Huard and colleagues from the University of Pittsburgh, USA, explored sex differences in the cartilage-forming potential of these stem cells. They took cells from three male and three female mice and tested them for cartilage development when stimulated by a growth factor and a protein involved in bone formation.

Both male and female cells began the process leading to the formation of cartilage cells, even without the growth factor and protein. But male cells had a more robust response. They also found that male cells maintained their potential to form cartilage in long term, whereas female cells lost this potential as they grew, suggesting that male cells maintain a higher rate of self-renewal.

Next, the researchers showed that both male and female cells showed some ability to regenerate cartilage following a cartilage defect in the mice's knee joints. However, treatment with male cells led to better results.

Findings appear in the December issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism. The authors write: "Compared with female muscle-derived stem cells, male muscle-derived stem cells display more chondrogenic [cartilage-forming] differentiation and better cartilage regeneration potential."

They conclude that these results may contribute to the development of new therapeutic strategies for cartilage repair and regeneration.

Matsumoto, T. et al. The influence of sex on the chondrogenic potential of muscle-derived stem cells: Implications for cartilage regeneration and repair. Arthritis & Rheumatism, Vol. 58, December 2008, pp. 3809-19.

Tags: North America | Rheumatology

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