
Bone marrow aspirate concentrate quality is affected by age and harvest site
Author(s) -
Cavallo Carola,
Boffa Angelo,
Girolamo Laura,
Merli Giulia,
Kon Elizaveta,
Cattini Luca,
Santo Emma,
Grigolo Brunella,
Filardo Giuseppe
Publication year - 2023
Publication title -
knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.806
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1433-7347
pISSN - 0942-2056
DOI - 10.1007/s00167-022-07153-6
Subject(s) - iliac crest , bone marrow , stromal cell , tibia , flow cytometry , medicine , bone histomorphometry , chondrogenesis , andrology , bone marrow aspirate , pathology , anatomy , mesenchymal stem cell , immunology , trabecular bone , osteoporosis
Purpose To compare the number and properties of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) collected from bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC) obtained from different harvest sites and from patients of different ages. Methods BMAC was obtained from two groups of patients based on age ( n = 10 per group): 19.0 ± 2.7 years for the younger and 56.8 ± 12.5 for the older group. In the latter, BMAC was obtained from both iliac crest and proximal tibia for a donor‐matched analysis. Mononucleated cell count and CFU‐F assay were performed, together with phenotype characterization of BMSCs from iliac crest and proximal tibia, the study of chondrogenic and osteogenic differentiation capacity, histological staining and spectrophotometric quantification, and the analysis of mRNAs expression. Results Cells derived from iliac crest and proximal tibia showed the same phenotypic pattern at flow cytometry, as well as similar chondrogenic and osteogenic potential. However, a significantly higher number of mononuclear cells per ml was observed in younger patients (3.8 ± 1.8 × 10 7 ) compared to older patients (1.2 ± 0.8 × 10 7 ) ( p < 0.0005). The latter yield, obtained from the iliac crest, was significantly higher than resulting from the BMAC harvested from the proximal tibia in the same group of patients (0.3 ± 0.2 × 10 7 , p < 0.0005). This result was confirmed by the CFU‐F analysis at day 10 (15.9 ± 19.4 vs 0.6 ± 1.0, p = 0.001) and day‐20 (21.7 ± 23.0 vs 2.9 ± 4.2, p = 0.006). Conclusion Harvest site and age can affect the quality of BMAC. BMSCs obtained from iliac crest and proximal tibia present comparable mesenchymal markers expression as well as osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation potential, but iliac crest BMAC presents a four times higher number of mononucleated cells with significantly higher clonogenic capacity compared to the tibia. BMAC of younger patients also had a three‐time higher number of mononucleated cells. The identification of BMAC characteristics could help to optimize its preparation and to identify the most suitable indications for this orthobiologic treatment in the clinical practice.