Células madre y progenitoras para la reparación de cartílago articular

Cartilage is a sensitive tissue prone to damage with the continuous practice of sports and ageing process, holding a low self repairing capacity. Degenerative joint diseases are among the most disabling and limiting in regards to life quality and daily activities. Biological therapies have become available to potentially treat osteoarthritis and focal chondral defects. However, there is still no efficient way to regenerate native hyaline cartilage. Stem cell therapy and bioengineering is a promising field which can transform the paradigms in orthopaedics. This review provides an overall view of the current state of biological therapies with stem and progenitor cells. We summarize cell therapy options with culture expanded cells and also four common sources of adult stem cells: bone marrow, adipose tissue, synovium and peripheral venous blood, along with clinical studies reporting their effectiveness. The purpose of this review is to summarize adult stem cells approaches for the treatment of focal chondral lesions and osteoarthritis.