SVF
Level D· Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studiesNarrative ReviewEurope PMCOpen access

Mesenchymal stem cells and extracellular vesicles for knee osteoarthritis: clinical application, mechanism exploration and prospect

Li Y., Fu T., Yu W., Wen H., Wang Z., Lyu Z.

Narrative Review on Knee Osteoarthritis, Osteoarthritis, Cartilage Damage, Chronic Inflammation, published in Stem Cell Res Ther (2025) — summary generated from the PubMed abstract.

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Level D· Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studiesEvidence level of this study

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

  • 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
Read the A–D evidence level guide

This page is generated from the PubMed record. The Thai description is an automated summary of bibliographic fields and the abstract, not a full translation, and is not medical advice.

Study type
Narrative Review
Journal
Stem Cell Res Ther (2025)
Reported sample size
—
Source database
Europe PMC
PMID
41276868
PMCID
PMC12751560
DOI
10.1186/s13287-025-04783-8
Citations
6

Abstract (original English)

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a prevalent degenerative joint disease characterized by progressive articular cartilage degeneration, synovial inflammation, and abnormal subchondral bone remodeling, with no curative treatment currently available. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and their extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs) have emerged as promising therapeutic strategies for KOA due to their anti-inflammatory, regenerative, and immunomodulatory properties. Clinical studies demonstrate that intra-articular MSCs injection significantly alleviates pain, improves joint function, and exhibits a favorable safety profile. MSC-EVs show enhanced therapeutic potential owing to their low immunogenicity, high stability, and targeted delivery capabilities. This review systematically examines the therapeutic role of MSCs and MSC-EVs in KOA treatment. Mechanistic studies reveal that MSC-EVs ameliorate joint inflammatory microenvironments by regulating macrophage polarization, inhibiting key inflammatory pathways (NF-κB, MAPK), and suppressing pro-inflammatory cytokine release (IL-1β, TNF-α). Furthermore, MSC-EVs protect extracellular matrix integrity and promote cartilage regeneration by upregulating chondrogenic markers (Sox9, aggrecan, type II collagen) while downregulating matrix-degrading enzymes (MMP-13, ADAMTS5). Additionally, MSC-EVs enhance chondrocyte proliferation and migration while inhibi

What this study does not prove

  • • This study does not prove SVF is an approved treatment or a replacement for standard care.
  • • This is a narrative review: it collects no new patient data and does not systematically appraise evidence quality.

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

How we grade evidence
Mesenchymal Stem CellsAnimalsHumansOsteoarthritis, KneeMesenchymal Stem Cell TransplantationExtracellular Vesicles
Face & SkinKneeKnee OsteoarthritisOsteoarthritisCartilage DamageChronic Inflammation
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