Treatment of intra-articular exozome in cartilage damage (Experimental study)

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND AND AIM Articular cartilage is in the structure of hyaline cartilage and when damaged, it is a tissue with a very low healing capacity. Although an optimal treatment method has not been defined yet, cellular-derived exosome treatment studies show promise in the treatment of cartilage defects. The aim of this study is to examine the effects of mammalian and plant-derived exosome treatments on cartilage lesions formed in the knees of rats on the cartilage healing process. METHODS Right knees of 32 sprague-dawley type female rats were used in the study. They were divided into 4 groups as mammalian origin (mesenchymal stem cell originating from cartilage and foreskin) exosome group, plant originating (pineapple and pumpkin) exosome group, microfracture group and control group. Two weeks after the osteochondral defect was created in the right knee of the rats, 3 exosome injections were made at one-week intervals. The study was terminated two weeks after the last injection. After the sacrification procedure, the knees were examined macroscopically, histologically and immunohistochemically. RESULTS When the experimental groups were compared with the control group; A statistically significant difference was found in the mean evaluation scores of the cartilage exosome group (p<0.001), foreskin group (p<0.001), pineapple exosome group (p<0.001) and pumpkin exosome group (p<0.001) compared to the control group. When histological scores were examined, when we compared the groups among themselves and with the control group; A statistically significant difference was found in the mean ICRS scores of the cartilage exosome, foreskin exosome, pineapple exosome and pumpkin exosome groups compared to the score of the control group (p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.004, respectively). CONCLUSION In the treatment of cartilage damage, intra-articular exosome application can be considered as an alternative treatment method because of the positive effects of using mesenchymal stem cell or plant-derived exosomes on cartilage healing. KEYWORDS Cartilage, exosome, osteochondral defect, mesenchymal stem cell