Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Feb 24;21(4):1541.
doi: 10.3390/ijms21041541.

Emerging Potential of Exosomes in Regenerative Medicine for Temporomandibular Joint Osteoarthritis

Yeon-Hee Lee  1 , Hee-Kyung Park  2 , Q-Schick Auh  1 , Haram Nah  3 , Jae Seo Lee  3 , Ho-Jin Moon  4 , Dong Nyoung Heo  4 , In San Kim  5 , Il Keun Kwon  4
Affiliations
Review

Emerging Potential of Exosomes in Regenerative Medicine for Temporomandibular Joint Osteoarthritis

Yeon-Hee Lee et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Exosomes are nanosized vesicles (30-140 nm) of endocytic origin that play important roles in regenerative medicine. They are derived from cell membranes during endocytic internalization and stabilize in biological fluids such as blood and synovia. Temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis (TMJ OA) is a degenerative disease, which, in addition to chronic pain, is characterized by progressive cartilage breakdown, condylar bone remodeling, and synovitis. However, traditional clinical treatments have limited symptom- and structure-modifying effects to restore damaged cartilage and other TMJ tissues. This is due to the limited self-healing capacity of condylar cartilage. Recently, stem-cell-derived exosomes have been studied as an alternative therapeutic approach to tissue repair and regeneration. It is known that trophic regulation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects under pathological conditions, and research on MSC-derived exosomes is rapidly accumulating. MSC-derived exosomes mimic the major therapeutic effects of MSCs. They affect the activity of immune effector cells and possess multilineage differentiation potential, including chondrogenic and osteogenic differentiation. Furthermore, exosomes are capable of regenerating cartilage or osseous compartments and restoring injured tissues and can treat dysfunction and pain caused by TMJ OA. In this review, we looked at the uniqueness of TMJ, the pathogenesis of TMJ OA, and the potential role of MSC-derived exosomes for TMJ cartilage and bone regeneration.

Keywords: exosome; mesenchymal stem cell; osteoarthritis; osteochondral regeneration; regenerative medicine; temporomandibular joint.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Anatomical structure of temporomandibular joint and surrounding tissues.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Causes of osteoarthritis on the temporomandibular joint.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Clinical and classical treatment for osteoarthritis on the temporomandibular joint.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Typical content and structure of exosomes. Abbreviations: MVB, multi-vesicular bodies; MHC, major histocompatibility complex; CD, Cluster of differentiation; GAPDH, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase; HSP, heat shock protein; AChE, acetylcholinesterase; TSG101, tumor susceptibility gene 101.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Application of exosomes to damaged tissue.
Figure 6
Figure 6
A new approach to temporomandibular joint (TMJ) osteoarthritis using exosomes.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Applying exosomes to the damaged surface of the condyle. A: anterior, P: posterior, R: right, L: left.
Figure 8
Figure 8
The potential role of exosomes in recovering cell numbers on degenerative disk.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Exosome application to the destructed cartilage and subchondral bone.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Shaffer S.M., Brismée J.-M., Sizer P.S., Courtney C.A. Temporomandibular disorders. Part 1: Anatomy and examination/diagnosis. J. Man. Manip. Ther. 2014;22:2–12. doi: 10.1179/2042618613Y.0000000060. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Li G., Yin J., Gao J., Cheng T.S., Pavlos N.J., Zhang C., Zheng M.H. Subchondral bone in osteoarthritis: Insight into risk factors and microstructural changes. Arthritis Res. Ther. 2013;15:223. doi: 10.1186/ar4405. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Egloff C., Hugle T., Valderrabano V. Biomechanics and pathomechanisms of osteoarthritis. Swiss Med. Wkly. 2012;142:w13583. doi: 10.4414/smw.2012.13583. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Toller P.A. Osteoarthrosis of the mandibular condyle. Br. Dent. J. 1973;134:223–231. doi: 10.1038/sj.bdj.4802982. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mejersjo C. Therapeutic and prognostic considerations in TMJ osteoarthrosis: A literature review and a long-term study in 11 subjects. Cranio J. Craniomandib. Pract. 1987;5:69–78. doi: 10.1080/08869634.1987.11678177. - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms