Autologous Chondrocyte Sheet

This autologous chondrocyte cell sheet therapy is developed by CellSeed Inc. in collaboration with Tokai University for the treatment of knee cartilage (hyaline cartilage) defects and osteoarthritis. The therapy involves harvesting a patient's own healthy cartilage cells (chondrocytes) and synovial cells, which are then co-cultured on temperature-responsive culture surfaces. This specialized technology allows for the fabrication of layered, scaffold-free cell sheets without the need for enzymatic dissociation, thereby preserving critical adhesive proteins and the extracellular matrix. When surgically transplanted into the damaged area, the cell sheets adhere to the defect site, providing a protective layer and secreting essential proteins and growth factors that promote the repair and regeneration of functional hyaline cartilage. Clinical research in Japan has demonstrated that this therapy, particularly when combined with surgical procedures like open-wedge high tibial osteotomy (OWHTO), can effectively promote cartilage repair.

Other names

autologous chondrocyte cell sheetCellSeed autologous chondrocyte sheet