Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells-derived extracellular vesicles as a potentially more beneficial therapeutic strategy than MSC-based treatment in a mild metabolic osteoarthritis model.

In summary, we find that MSC treatment has negative effects on the joint in metabolic mild OA. This is an essential finding for the significant group of patients with metabolic OA phenotype, and might help to understand why clinical translation of MSC treatment shows varying therapeutic efficacy thus far. Our results also suggest that MSC-EV-based treatment might be a promising option for these patients, however MSC-EV therapeutic efficacy will need improvement.