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Repair of articular cartilage defects remains a challenge owing to the lack of self-regeneration ability. Stem cell therapy has shown some therapeutic potential for cartilage repair. Cell therapy needs site specific targeting approaches and upgrading cell participation in the process of tissue regeneration to be effective. Recent cell therapy techniques are aimed to prevent off-target attachment by enhancing cell ability for binding to specific markers. Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the main causes of pain and disability worldwide. In recent years, numerous efforts have been made in pharmaceutical and surgical therapies for OA management. The therapeutic features of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), have led to numerous preclinical and clinical trials that confirmed the efficacy of cell therapy as treatment for OA. Recent works have attempted to customize cell participation in tissue regeneration using site specific targeting approaches. Targeting approaches are based on direct modifications to the surface of MSCs or indirect modifications on an engineered nanomediator. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of the advances in targeted cell delivery and define the priorities for future work in terms of OA and cartilage regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective The abdominal form of obesity is prevalent in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Visceral fat accumulation seems to play an important role in etiology of PCOS. In this cross-sectional study we evaluated the association of oxidative stress (OS) induced with PCOS and abdominal obesity in serum and follicular fluid (FF) of infertile women. Study design A total of 80 women younger than 37 years old undergoing an IVF program were studied in the same period of time from September 2012 to October 2013. Blood serum and FF obtained from 40 women with PCOS (diagnosed by the Rotterdam 2004 criteria) and 40 women without PCOS undergoing IVF were evaluated for two OS markers: lipid peroxide (LPO) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC), after puncture. The patients were divided into 4 groups on the basis of presence of PCOS and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) or abdominal obesity (OA). Results Healthy and PCOS women with abdominal obesity had significantly higher amounts of LPO in the serum and FF as compared with women without abdominal obesity. LPO concentration in FF was significantly lower than in serum and corroborates the hypothesis that the germinal cells have a potent antioxidant mechanism. We also found that LPO concentration in the PCOS group associated with AO had an increasing trend vs. those AO patients without PCOS but this difference was not significant, so the increase in LPO level was approximately independent of PCOS. Based on our results, the association and interaction between PCOS and AO can lead to TAC concentration reduction in patients. Conclusions Abdominal obesity can induce local and systemic oxidative stress in PCOS and non-PCOS patients. We suggest that PCOS-induced disorders are likely to be exacerbated in the presence of abdominal obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]