APPLICATION OF PERIPHERAL BLOOD STEM CELLS IN THE REPAIR OF CARTILAGE INJURIES

Abstract

The treatment of cartilage injuries represents a significant challenge in regenerative medicine, and cell therapy has emerged as an innovative and promising therapeutic alternative. The objective of this study is to evaluate the therapeutic potential of peripheral blood-derived stem cells in the treatment of cartilage injuries. A literature review was conducted in major medical databases using the descriptors “blood stem cell” and “cartilage,” applying the Boolean operator “AND.” All articles published between 2015 and 2025 were included in the primary analysis. It was observed that stem cells derived from peripheral blood exhibit a remarkable capacity for chondrogenic differentiation and are capable of inducing cartilage repair processes in vivo. These effects demonstrated statistical significance in both clinical parameters and imaging evaluations, representing a considerable improvement over conventional treatments. Compared to bone marrow-derived stem cells, peripheral blood stem cells offer substantial advantages, including ease of collection, high availability, and simplicity of the harvesting process. Thus, it is reasonable to conclude that peripheral blood will increasingly consolidate as a more relevant cellular source for cell therapy aimed at treating cartilage injuries. Therefore, peripheral blood-derived stem cells have great therapeutic potential for cartilage repair and represent a promising resource in the treatment of joint diseases. However, the mechanisms underlying this repair process, as well as the involved pathophysiological details, require further investigation in future experimental and clinical studies.