Stimulating factors in cartilage tissue engineering / 中国组织工程研究

ABSTRACT

Stimulating factors have been employed to induce,accelerate,and/or enhance cartilage formation.For instance,stimulating factors and other additives may be added to culture media in vitro or incorporated into scaffolds for in vivo delivery to control cellular differentiation and tissue formation.At present,many growth factors and other dissoluble factors such as hyaluronic acid,chondroitin sulfate,and insulin have been used alone or synergistically in cartilage tissue engineering.The application efficacy depends on cell type and culture condition.In addition,gene therapy has emerged as another method of local delivery,where cells can be engineered to over-express bioactive molecules.An additional approach is the introduction of mechanical signals through loading regimes such as hydrostatic or dynamic compression or through the use of bioreactors.Current bioreactors used in cartilage tissue engineering include flat-sheet bioreactor,rotating wall vessel bioreactor and concentric cylinder bioreactor.Bioreactor can improve nutrition transmittability,provide hydrodynamic environment,induce shear stress,and promote production of cartilage specific matrix protein.