Effects of TGF-β3 on meniscus repair using human amniotic epithelial cells

Early human evidence such as case series or small samples is exploring possible benefits.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Background Meniscus injury is one of the most common knee diseases, which is managed through conservative and surgical treatments. In recent years, biotherapy has shown great potential to treat various symptoms caused by meniscus injury repair. Human amniotic epithelial cells (hAECs), which are easy to acquire, non-tumorigenic, and high tri-lineage differentiation potential, are a promising cell source for biotherapy and tissue engineering applications. Studies have demonstrated that the Transforming Growth Factor-β3 (TGF-β3) can facilitate chondrocyte differentiation and maturation. Methods Both in vitro test and in vivo test were employed. In the in vitro test, human amniotic epithelial cells (hAECs), human amniotic mesenchymal stem cells (hAMCs), and fibrochondrocytes (FCs) were extracted and identified by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry (IHC). These cells were treated with TGF-β3 for one week, followed by IHC staining and qPCR to explore TGF-β3-induced fibrocartilage formation in hAECs. In the in vivo tests, a meniscus injury model was established based on rabbits, and the Sham, the control (normal saline), and the hAECs + TGF-β3 groups were used. Additionally, the meniscus was collected and checked through general examination and IHC analysis 90 d after surgery. Results Routine transcriptome analysis confirmed that TGF-β3 induced the differentiation of amniotic epi

Evidence level

Early human evidence such as case series or small samples is exploring possible benefits.

Browse all related research

Filter the research library by this study's title keywords, author, or publication year.