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Stem Cell Therapy for Osteoporosis

  • Regenerative Biology and Medicine in Osteoporosis (EM Schwartz and RE Guldberg, Section Editors)
  • Published:
Current Osteoporosis Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Osteoporosis is a debilitating disease that affects millions of people worldwide. Current osteoporosis treatments are predominantly bone-resorbing drugs that are associated with several side effects. The use of stem cells for tissue regeneration has raised great hope in various fields of medicine, including musculoskeletal disorders. Stem cell therapy for osteoporosis could potentially reduce the susceptibility of fractures and augment lost mineral density by either increasing the numbers or restoring the function of resident stem cells that can proliferate and differentiate into bone-forming cells. Such osteoporosis therapies can be carried out by exogenous introduction of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), typically procured from bone marrow, adipose, and umbilical cord blood tissues or through treatments with drugs or small molecules that recruit endogenous stem cells to osteoporotic sites. The main hurdle with cell-based osteoporosis therapy is the uncertainty of stem cell fate and biodistribution following cell transplantation. Therefore, future advancements will focus on long-term engraftment and differentiation of stem cells at desired bone sites for tangible clinical outcome.

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Acknowledgments

D Gazit acknowledges funding support for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (grant # TR2-01780).

Conflict of Interest

B. Antebi declares that he has no conflicts of interest. G. Pelled declares that he has no conflicts of interest. D. Gazit declares that he has no conflicts of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain or cite any studies with human or animal subjects performed by the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Skeletal Biotech Laboratory, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical Campus, POB 12272, Ein Kerem, Jerusalem, 91120, Israel

    Ben Antebi, Gadi Pelled & Dan Gazit

  2. Department of Surgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, 90048, USA

    Gadi Pelled & Dan Gazit

  3. Regenerative Medicine Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, 90048, USA

    Gadi Pelled & Dan Gazit

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  1. Ben Antebi
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  2. Gadi Pelled
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  3. Dan Gazit
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Correspondence to Dan Gazit.

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Antebi, B., Pelled, G. & Gazit, D. Stem Cell Therapy for Osteoporosis. Curr Osteoporos Rep 12, 41–47 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11914-013-0184-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11914-013-0184-x

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