Abstract
Articular cartilage is a unique tissue owing to its ability to withstand repetitive compressive stress throughout an individual’s lifetime. However, its major limitation is the inability to heal even the most minor injuries. There still remains an inherent lack of strategies that stimulate hyaline-like articular cartilage growth with appropriate functional properties. Recent scientific advances in tissue engineering have made significant steps towards development of constructs for articular cartilage repair. In particular, research has shown the potential of biomaterial physico-chemical properties significantly influencing the proliferation, differentiation and matrix deposition by progenitor cells. Accordingly, this highlights the potential of using such properties to direct the lineage towards which such cells follow. Moreover, the use of soluble growth factors to enhance the bioactivity and regenerative capacity of biomaterials has recently been adopted by researchers in the field of tissue engineering. In addition, gene therapy is a growing area that has found noteworthy use in tissue engineering partly due to the potential to overcome some drawbacks associated with current growth factor delivery systems. In this context, such advanced strategies in biomaterial science, cell-based and growth factor-based therapies that have been employed in the restoration and repair of damaged articular cartilage will be the focus of this review article.
Highlights
Articular cartilage is a unique tissue owing to its ability to withstand repetitive compressive stress throughout an individual’s lifetime
Superficial matrix disruption arises from blunt trauma whereby the extracellular matrix (ECM) is damaged but viable chondrocytes aggregate into clusters and are capable of synthesizing new matrix [7]
We hypothesize that a scaffold mean pore size range of approximately 300–350 μm diameter can support enhanced cell infiltration and matrix deposition. Both mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and chondrocytes are much smaller in diameter, their attachment and migration on scaffolds can be largely affected by the mean pore size
Summary
In order to develop biomaterials for articular cartilage repair, it is important to understand the structure of the native tissue. Hyaline cartilage is found on the ventral ends of ribs and is distinguished from the other forms of cartilage by the high content of collagen type II and rich proteoglycan matrix synthesized by chondrocytes This surface acts as a shock absorber for the loads experienced due to movement. Stress relaxation of articular cartilage, indicative of its visco-elastic properties, further demonstrates its unique function in resisting damage from applied loads [3]. This tissue is capable of counteracting compression by pressurization of the interstitial fluid with more than 95% of the load carried by fluid [4]. The collagen fibers in the deep zone penetrate through the tidemark into the calcified cartilage to provide structural stability for articular cartilage on the subchondral bone [6]
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