Table 2.
Summary of the main cell types used for OCTE, with their advantages and disadvantages.
| Cell Type | Advantages | Disadvantages | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pluripotent | Embryonic Stem Cells (ESCs) | High differentiation and self-renewal capacity; Off-the-shelf source |
Ethical concerns; Tumorigenic potential and genomic instability; Heterogeneous differentiation |
|
| Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) | High differentiation and self-renewal capacity; Patient-specific therapy; Minimally invasive harvest technique for autologous iPSCs; Off-the-shelf source |
Tumorigenic potential and genomic instability; Difficulty in achieving uniform differentiation; High cost |
||
| Multipotent | Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) | Bone Marrow-Derived Stem Cells (BMSCs) | High chondrogenic and osteogenic potential | Invasive harvest technique; Low collection yields force them to be heavily expanded before sufficient numbers are attained (longer waiting times and higher risk of de-differentiation); Differentiation potential declines with increasing age Possibility of forming heterogeneous cell populations |
| Adipose-Derived Stem Cells (ASCs) | Minimally invasive isolation procedure with high yields | Lower chondrogenic and osteogenic potential than BMSCs | ||
| Emerging MSC types: synovial tissue MSCs (SMSCs), periosteum-derived MSCs (PMSCs), umbilical cord MSCs (UCMSCs), amniotic membrane and fluid MSCs (AFSCs) | ||||
| Unipotent | Primary cells (chondrocytes and osteoblasts) | Native phenotype; No need for osteogenic/chondrogenic differentiation protocols; Easy accessibilityImmunocompatibility (autologous sources) |
Limited lifespan; Low proliferation potential; Risk of de-differentiation or loss of function during expansion; Limited cell numbers obtained during isolation; Risk of donor-site morbidity and infection upon autologous cell isolation |
|