Altered lineage commitment of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in idiopathic osteonecrosis of the femoral head

Human BM-MSCs from idiopathic ONFH display a paradoxical phenotype: Hyperproliferative yet osteogenically impaired with greater adipogenesis and activation of NF-κB signalling. This functional compromise and inflammatory bias may underline the failure of bone regeneration in ONFH, highlighting the need for therapies re-directing MSCs fate and modulating the bone marrow niche.