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Review
. 2020 May 2;21(9):3224.
doi: 10.3390/ijms21093224.

Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate: Its Uses in Osteoarthritis

Gi Beom Kim  1 , Min-Soo Seo  2 , Wook Tae Park  1 , Gun Woo Lee  1
Affiliations
Review

Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate: Its Uses in Osteoarthritis

Gi Beom Kim et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Human bone marrow (BM) is a kind of source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as well as growth factors and cytokines that may aid anti-inflammation and regeneration for various tissues, including cartilage and bone. However, since MSCs in BM usually occupy only a small fraction (0.001%) of nucleated cells, bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC) for cartilage pathologies, such as cartilage degeneration, defect, and osteoarthritis, have gained considerable recognition in the last few years due to its potential benefits including disease modifying and regenerative capacity. Although further research with well-designed, randomized, controlled clinical trials is needed to elucidate the exact mechanism of BMAC, this may have the most noteworthy effect in patients with osteoarthritis. The purpose of this article is to review the general characteristics of BMAC, including its constituent, action mechanisms, and related issues. Moreover, this article aims to summarize the clinical outcomes of BMAC reported to date.

Keywords: bone marrow; bone marrow aspirate concentrate; cartilage; mesenchymal stem cells; osteoarthritis; regeneration.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Molecular mechanisms of osteoarthritis. Increased proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6, activated matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), and decreased growth factors such as TGF-β and ultimate chondrocyte senescence can be observed at the molecular level.
Figure 2
Figure 2
BMAC preparation and knee joint injection. (A) bone marrow aspiration at anterior iliac rim; (B) After centrifugation and some procedure, dark-colored BMAC (white arrow) was obtained; (C) BMAC injection to the knee joint with osteoarthritis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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