Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009;37(1-2):1-57.
doi: 10.1615/critrevbiomedeng.v37.i1-2.10.

The role of tissue engineering in articular cartilage repair and regeneration

Lijie Zhang  1 , Jerry Hu, Kyriacos A Athanasiou
Affiliations

The role of tissue engineering in articular cartilage repair and regeneration

Lijie Zhang et al. Crit Rev Biomed Eng. 2009.

Abstract

Articular cartilage repair and regeneration continue to be largely intractable because of the poor regenerative properties of this tissue. The field of articular cartilage tissue engineering, which aims to repair, regenerate, and/or improve injured or diseased articular cartilage functionality, has evoked intense interest and holds great potential for improving articular cartilage therapy. This review provides an overall description of the current state of and progress in articular cartilage repair and regeneration. Traditional therapies and related problems are introduced. More importantly, a variety of promising cell sources, biocompatible tissue engineered scaffolds, scaffoldless techniques, growth factors, and mechanical stimuli used in current articular cartilage tissue engineering are reviewed. Finally, the technical and regulatory challenges of articular cartilage tissue engineering and possible future directions are also discussed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1
Schematic illustration of composition and structure of articular cartilage lining the bone (not drawn to scale). There are four zones with different structures in articular cartilage: superficial, middle, deep, and calcified.
Fig 2
Fig 2
The concept of tissue engineering. Tissue engineering incorporates many critical factors including cells, scaffolds, bioactive factors, and physical stimuli to assemble biomimetic tissue engineered constructs for replacing damaged tissues in humans.
Fig 3
Fig 3
The totipotent, pluripotent, multipotent, and unipotent stem cells.
Fig 4
Fig 4
Human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells after 6 days of culture, exhibiting a fibroblastic morphology.
Fig 5
Fig 5
A scaffold-free, modular approach for the engineering of articular cartilage from stem cells.
Fig 6
Fig 6
Chondrocyte self-assembly and ECM development in a scaffold-free process. Sequences of cadherin and collagen VI expression and distribution parallel those seen in native cartilage development. (Used under the Creative Commons Attribution License, from Ofek et al., PloS ONE, 2008)
Fig 7
Fig 7
Cells can respond to mechanical forces via several coupling mechanisms, such as stretch activated ion channels and focal adhesion complexes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. CDC.org. Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2009. [cited 2009 August 15th]. [homepage on the Internet] Available from http://www.cdc.gov/
    1. Romanelli D, Watanabe DS, Mand BR. Articular cartilage injuries. Rosemont: American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine; 2008. [updated 2008; cited 2009 August 15th]. Available from http://www.sportsmed.org/tabs/patienteducation/SportsTipDetails.aspx?DID....
    1. Lawrence RC, Felson DT, Helmick CG, Arnold LM, Choi H, Deyo RA, et al. Estimates of the prevalence of arthritis and other rheumatic conditions in the United States. Part II. Arthritis Rheum. 2008 Jan;58(1):26–35. - PMC - PubMed
    1. CDC.org. Atlanta: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; 2009. [cited 2009 September 1st]. [homepage on the Internet] Available from http://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/arthritis/osteoarthritis.html.
    1. AAOS.org. The Burden of Musculoskeletal Diseases in the United States. Rosemont: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons; 2009. [monograph on the Internet] Available from http://www.boneandjointburden.org.

Publication types

MeSH terms