Treatment outcomes of alginate-embedded allogenic mesenchymal stem cells versus autologous chondrocytes for the repair of focal articular cartilage defects in a rabbit model

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) represent a promising alternative form of cell-based therapy for cartilage injury. However, the capacity of MSCs for chondrogenesis has not been fully explored. In particular, there is presently a lack of studies comparing the effectiveness of MSCs to conventional autologous chondrocyte (autoC) treatment for regeneration of full-thickness cartilage defects in vivo.