Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) releases in culture extracellular vesicles called microvesicles (MVs).
MVs have beneficial cytokines that prevent progression of the disease and help in the regeneration
process. This study is aimed to evaluate the effect of MSCs derived MVs in repair of induced chondral
defect in a dog model. Methods: Chondral defects were created surgically (3mm  1mm) in both
femoral condyles of nine dogs, autologous MSCs were isolated and MVs were prepared and injected
Correspondence to: Dina Sabry, Prof. of Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University,
Egypt.
Journal of Musculoskeletal Research, Vol. 21, No. 2 (2018) 1850006 (12 pages)
© World Scientific Publishing Company
DOI: 10.1142/S0218957718500069
1850006-1
J. Musculoskelet. Res. 2018.21. Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com
by 156.172.107.237 on 05/15/19. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.
intraarticularly in the right joint. The left joint was injected with normal saline as control negative.
Evaluation of the treatment after first injection was carried out by physical examination and histopathology
at different time periods (1½, 3 and 6 months). Results: Treated joints showed marked
degree of cartilage regeneration and restoration of chondral histomorphological picture on the contrary
of the control joints that showed deterioration over time and defect filling with only fibrous tissue
forming a fibrocartilage at the end of six months period. Conclusion: We demonstrated in this study
that administration of MVs was effective on the functional and morphological recovery of the injured
cartilage and could be exploited as a cell free therapeutic approach in regenerative medicine.