SynthesisFrontiers in pharmacology2025
Mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis based on rat model.
Synthesis in Frontiers in pharmacology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Cell-Based Therapies for Post-Traumatic Ankle Osteoarthritis and Osteochondral Lesions of the Talus: A Systematic Scoping Review of an Emerging and Heterogeneous Evidence Base.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Comparative Efficacy and Safety of Intra-Articular Adipose-Derived, Bone Marrow-Derived, and Peripheral Blood-Derived Stem Cell Injections for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Anti-Inflammatory and Angiogenic Effects of Stem Cell Secretome.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Exosome-Based Therapeutics in Dermatology and Beyond: A Narrative Review.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- [Exosomes from folic acid-treated subpatellar fat pad-derived mesenchymal stem cells promote M2 polarization of macrophagesNan fang yi ke da xue xue bao = Journal of Southern Medical University · 2026Article
- A narrative review of clinical research on knee osteoarthritis in 2025.Annals of joint · 2026Review
- Umbrella review of mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles in preclinical models: therapeutic efficacy across diverse conditions.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: In this study, we systematically evaluated the efficacy of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) derived exosomes (MSC-exos) in the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) through multimodal evaluation of cartilage protection, anti-inflammatory activity and tissue regeneration. A comparative analysis of drug delivery strategies was performed to explore better therapeutic effects. Methods: The study employed a systematic search of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases for comparative studies on exosome treatments in rat knee OA models with cartilage damage up to July 2024. Two researchers independently reviewed the literature, extracted data, evaluated bias, and conducted a meta-analysis using RevMan 5.4.1, Stata IC 15, and Stata 18. Results: Our systematic review incorporated 28 preclinical studies demonstrating that MSC-exos consistently exhibited therapeutic advantages in cartilage repair, as evidenced by significant improvements across validated histological scoring systems, such as Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI), Mankin, and International Cartilage Repair Society (ICRS) metrics. Mechanistic analyses revealed coordinated anabolic-catabolic modulation, with marked upregulation of cartilage-specific anabolic factors including collagen type II, aggrecan core protein, and interleukin-10. Concomitantly, MSC-exos suppressed pro-inflammatory mediators through downregulation of interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, matrix metalloproteinase-13, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha, critical regulators of extracellular matrix degradation in OA pathogenesis. Subgroup analysis of MSC types may suggest that exosomes derived from synovial fluid mesenchymal stem cells (SF-MSC-exos) and umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UMSC-exos) have better effects on cartilage repair. Biweekly exosome injections are more effective than weekly injections in repairing OA. Conclusion: This meta-analysis, by combining existing evidence with network meta-analysis, suggests that UMSC-exos and SF-MSC-exos are the most effective treatment options and that twice-weekly doses are the optimal frequency of treatment. MSC-exos significantly improved the histopathological score of oOA through bidirectional regulation of cartilage anabolic activation and catabolic inhibition. The results of the subgroup analysis provide suggestions for future clinical treatment of OA with exosomes. In the future, more high-quality randomised controlled animal and clinical trials are needed to determine the optimal type, frequency and dose of exosomes for OA treatment. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42024599998, PROSPERO, CRD42024599998.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.