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Review
. 2019 Aug 19;10(1):260.
doi: 10.1186/s13287-019-1359-x.

Nomenclature clarification: synovial fibroblasts and synovial mesenchymal stem cells

Fangqi Li  1 , Yiyong Tang  1 , Bin Song  1 , Menglei Yu  1 , Qingyue Li  1 , Congda Zhang  1 , Jingyi Hou  2 , Rui Yang  3
Affiliations
Review

Nomenclature clarification: synovial fibroblasts and synovial mesenchymal stem cells

Fangqi Li et al. Stem Cell Res Ther. .

Abstract

Synovial-derived cells, found in the synovial membrane of human joints, were obtained by digestion of the synovial membrane and were subsequently expanded in vitro. The identity of synovial-derived cells has long been a topic of debate. The terms "type B synoviocytes," "fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS)," "synovium-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)," and "synovial fibroblasts (SF)" appeared in different articles related to human synovial-derived cells in various disease models, yet they seemed to be describing the same cell type. However, to date, there is no clear standard to distinguish these terms; thus, the hypothesis that they represent the same cell type is currently inconclusive. Therefore, this review aims to clarify the similarities and differences between these terms and to diffuse the chaotic nomenclature of synovial-derived cells.

Keywords: Fibroblasts; MSCs; Mesenchymal stem cells; Synoviocytes; Synovium.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The distribution of various cells in the synovium. The term “synovial fibroblasts (SF),” which refers to intimal and subintimal fibroblasts, appears to have a broader definition as compared to “type B” or “fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS),” which only represents intimal fibroblasts. Synovial intimal fibroblasts express VCAM-1 and high level of UDPGD, while subintimal fibroblasts do not. Fibroblasts can be isolated from synovium and exhibit the characteristics of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) after in vitro culture and proliferation. Therefore, these cells are considered as synovium-derived MSCs. FLS can function as innate immune cells, expressing variety of immune regulatory cytokines. Synovium-derived MSCs have been shown to have immunosuppressive properties in vitro
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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