Researchers discover bodyâs stem cell army hits a wall when responding to an ACL injury
Beaumont Health System News Jun 29, 2017
Kevin Baker, PhD, Beaumont director of Orthopedic Research, conducted a study with Beaumont orthopedic surgeon Kyle Anderson, MD, and others that revealed ACL tears send a signal to stem cells throughout our body. After an ACL tear, Dr. Baker and his colleagues found a six–fold increase in stem cells circulating around the knee, similar to the bodyÂs response to a major, life–threatening event like a stroke or heart attack. However, when the stem cells arrive to help regenerate and repair the injured ligament, they get stuck. They canÂt get through the thick membrane that surrounds the knee joint.
ÂWe think this discovery will help us to understand how the body responds to an ACL injury, and also how post–traumatic osteoarthritis develops after a joint injury, Dr. Anderson said.
Post–traumatic osteoarthritis is a form of arthritis that develops after a knee injury. Until now, little was known about how the body attempts to heal these injuries. As we age, the number of stem cells in our body declines. ÂThis could explain why your knee joint doesnÂt heal as well after a trauma when you are older, Dr. Baker said. Osteoarthritis affects more than 30 million adults in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and many of these cases occur after trauma to a joint. ItÂs also a leading cause of disability.
ÂThe next step of our research will be finding methods to get the stem cells inside the joint. If the stem cells can get through the membrane around the knee, they could help speed up the healing process and perhaps delay or prevent arthritis, Dr. Baker added. The study, funded in part by the American Orthopedic Society of Sports Medicine, is entitled, ÂAcute mobilization and migration of bone marrow–derived stem cells following anterior cruciate ligament rupture.Â
The authors believe it is the first study of its kind to reveal the bodyÂs systemic stem cell response to an ACL injury.
Dr. Baker and Dr. AndersonÂs research was published in the journal Osteoarthritis and Cartilage.
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ÂWe think this discovery will help us to understand how the body responds to an ACL injury, and also how post–traumatic osteoarthritis develops after a joint injury, Dr. Anderson said.
Post–traumatic osteoarthritis is a form of arthritis that develops after a knee injury. Until now, little was known about how the body attempts to heal these injuries. As we age, the number of stem cells in our body declines. ÂThis could explain why your knee joint doesnÂt heal as well after a trauma when you are older, Dr. Baker said. Osteoarthritis affects more than 30 million adults in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and many of these cases occur after trauma to a joint. ItÂs also a leading cause of disability.
ÂThe next step of our research will be finding methods to get the stem cells inside the joint. If the stem cells can get through the membrane around the knee, they could help speed up the healing process and perhaps delay or prevent arthritis, Dr. Baker added. The study, funded in part by the American Orthopedic Society of Sports Medicine, is entitled, ÂAcute mobilization and migration of bone marrow–derived stem cells following anterior cruciate ligament rupture.Â
The authors believe it is the first study of its kind to reveal the bodyÂs systemic stem cell response to an ACL injury.
Dr. Baker and Dr. AndersonÂs research was published in the journal Osteoarthritis and Cartilage.
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