RESUMO
Musculoskeletal ailments affect millions of people around the world and place a high burden on healthcare. Traditional treatment modalities are limited and do not address underlying pathologies. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have emerged as an exciting therapeutic alternative and Wharton's jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells (WJSCs) are some of these. This review reports the clinical and functional outcomes of the applications of WJSCs in orthopedic surgery. A systematic review was conducted utilizing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The studies that used culture-expanded, mesenchymal stem or stromal cells, MSCs and/or connective tissues procured from Wharton's jelly (WJ), from January 2010 to October 2021, were included. Conventional non-operative therapies and placebos were used as comparisons. Six studies that directly discussed WJSCs use in an animal model or the basic scientific testing using an injury model were identified. Five publications studied cartilage injury, three studied degenerative disc disease, one was related to osteoarthritis, and one was related to osteochondral defects. The results of these studies suggested the benefits of WJSCs in the management of these orthopedic pathologies. To adequately assess the safety and efficacy of WJSCs in orthopedic surgery, further randomized controlled clinical studies are necessary.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal injuries and conditions affect millions of individuals. These ailments are typically managed by immobilization, physiotherapy, or activity modification. Regenerative medicine has experienced tremendous growth in the past decades, especially in musculoskeletal medicine. Umbilical cord-derived Wharton's jelly is an exciting new option for such therapies. Wharton's jelly is a connective tissue located within the umbilical cord largely composed of mesenchymal stem cells and extracellular matrix components, including collagen, chondroitin sulfate, hyaluronic acid, and sulfated proteoglycans. Wharton's jelly is a promising and applicable biologic source for orthopedic regenerative application. METHODS: A systematic search will be conducted in PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar databases of English, Italian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese language articles published to date. References will be screened and assessed for eligibility by two independent reviewers as per PRISMA guidelines. Articles will be considered without exclusion to sex, activity, or age. Studies will be included if they used culture-expanded, mesenchymal stem/stromal cells of mesenchymal stem cells and/or connective tissue obtained from Wharton's jelly. Studies will be excluded if Wharton's jelly is not the sole experimental examined cell type. Placebos, conventional non-operative therapies including steroid injections, exercise, and NSAIDs will be compared. The study selection process will be performed independently by two reviewers using a reference software. Data synthesis and meta-analysis will be performed separately for clinical and pre-clinical studies. DISCUSSION: The results will be published in relevant peer-reviewed scientific journals. Investigators will present results at national or international conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The protocol was registered on PROSPERO international prospective register of systematic reviews prior to commencement, CRD42020182487 .