Tissue engineering and regenerative approaches for the treatment of orthopaedic pathologies using stem cell-based strategies are on the verge of influencing clinical practice depending on the outcomes of widespread applications in ongoing basic research and clinical trials.

Freshly isolated Connective Tissue Progenitors (CTP), Endothelial Progenitor Cells (EPC), and culture expanded Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSC) appear to be the three main cell types that the investigations have focused on to date. Cells derived from bone, bone marrow, cartilage, and adipose have all been shown to have potential applications for the repair and regeneration of musculoskeletal tissues.

This special issue will lay out and discuss the current concepts and present ground-breaking developments in stem cell-based treatment strategies in the field of orthopaedic surgery. We are soliciting high quality clinical and basic science original research articles as well as systematic review articles that focus on the use of stem cell-based therapies in orthopaedic surgery.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Results from pilot trials or completed clinical trials relevant to the use of stem cell-based treatments in humans with orthopaedic pathologies
• Clinical human or larger animal basic research focusing on the most effective source, isolation, delivery, and tracking methods of stem/progenitor cells
• Nomenclature, definition, and identification of stem/progenitor cells with potential applications for humans
• Biological mechanisms that regulate behavior, including the timing and reasons for lineage commitment of stem/progenitor cells in native environment or posttransplant sites
• Long-term safety of stem cell-based treatments in humans