Background: Osteoarthritis is a disease in which joints are destroyed by damage to articular cartilage, and regeneration of damaged cartilage can be considered a fundamental treatment. Umbilical cord stem cells are stem cells extracted from the umbilical cord during birth, and are considered good candidates for cartilage regeneration through differentiation into chondrocytes due to their excellent differentiation ability and immune regulation properties. Scaffolds also play an essential role in cartilage regeneration by supporting cell adhesion, growth, and structural reconstruction of cartilage.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to verify the efficacy of umbilical cord stem cells in the regeneration of cartilage tissue by implanting them in damaged joints of rabbits using human collagen/hyaluronic acid derivative (HAD) composite scaffold.

Methods: Stem cells and collagen were isolated from human umbilical cords. Scaffold was prepared by mixing collagen with HAD. The characteristics of stem cells and their differentiation potential into chondrocytes were identified through in vitro and in vivo experiment. Cartilage defect models were prepared with adult New Zealand rabbits by making a full-thickness defect on both knees.

Results: As a result, in cells extracted from umbilical cord, the specific markers of stem cells were expressed and differentiation into chondrocytes was confirmed. In nude mice, compared with composite scaffold not containing cells, the collagen/HAD composite scaffold embedded with stem cells maintained its form well through the differentiation into chondrocytes and matrix synthesis. In the rabbit models, compared with the untreated group and the group implanted with scaffold not mixed with collagen, the group implanted with composite scaffold containing stem cells showed better regeneration to hyaline-like cartilage after 8 weeks and perfect regeneration quite similar to normal cartilage at 16 weeks.

Conclusion: The implantation of umbilical cord stem cells using human collagen/HAD composite scaffold can be an effective cell therapy for damaged cartilage in sports injury or osteoarthritis.

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Acknowledgements: NIL.

Disclosure of Interests: None declared.

© The Authors 2025. This abstract is an open access article published in Annals of Rheumatic Diseases under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ). Neither EULAR nor the publisher make any representation as to the accuracy of the content. The authors are solely responsible for the content in their abstract including accuracy of the facts, statements, results, conclusion, citing resources etc.