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Review
. 2010 Nov;28(11):1992-6.
doi: 10.1002/stem.534.

Stem cells and cartilage development: complexities of a simple tissue

Anthony P Hollander  1 , Sally C Dickinson, Wael Kafienah
Affiliations
Free PMC article
Review

Stem cells and cartilage development: complexities of a simple tissue

Anthony P Hollander et al. Stem Cells. 2010 Nov.
Free PMC article

Abstract

Cartilage is considered to be a simple tissue that should be easy to engineer because it is avascular and contains just one cell type, the chondrocyte. Despite this apparent simplicity, regenerating cartilage in a form that can function effectively after implantation in the joint has proven difficult. This may be because we have not fully appreciated the importance of different structural regions of articular cartilage or of understanding the origins of chondrocytes and how this cell population is maintained in the normal tissue. This review considers what is known about different regions of cartilage and the types of stem cells in articulating joints and emphasizes the potential importance of regeneration of the lamina splendens at the joint surface and calcified cartilage at the junction with bone for long-term survival of regenerated tissue in vivo.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Histological appearance of different zones of articular cartilage. (A): The typical glassy appearance of hyaline cartilage under polarized light microscopy. (B): The calcified cartilage zone and tide mark at the cartilage–bone junction in hematoxylin and eosin stained sections. (C): The lamina splendens at the surface of articular cartilage under polarized light microscopy. All panels were viewed at ×10 magnification.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Diagram of the microstructure of articular cartilage found in the joints.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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