Tissue engineering methods for repair of articular cartilage defect under special conditions

Jinsong CHEN

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

Although desired cartilage repair has been realized via tissue engineering technology, these achievements mainly focus on small-size defect under a normal physical condition. However, cartilage defects are always accompanied by the underlying diseases in clinical practice, such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Meanwhile, the location, scope, and depth of cartilage defects are uncertain, which brings a great challenge in cartilage tissue repair.

OBJECTIVE:

To summarize the methods of repairing articular cartilage defects at different locations and under inflammatory condition.

METHODS:

We searched PubMed and CNKI with the search terms “cartilage defect regeneration, osteochondral, growth plate, weight-bearing area, inflammatory” in Chiense and English to retrieve related papers published before March 2019. A total of 209 papers were retrieved and 86 were included in the final analysis according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. RESULTS AND

CONCLUSION:

For articular cartilage defects under different special conditions, the repair goals and strategies are different. For repair of full-layer cartilage defects and osteochondral structure defects, multi-layered scaffolds are often used to repair the unique stratified cartilage structure and subchondral bone structure, while avoiding the problem of heterotopic ossification in neonatal cartilage. To avoid deformity after long bone maturation, growth factors such as insulin-like growth factor and bone morphogenetic protein 7 should be added to continuously stimulate the repair of the growth plate and promote bone growth. For cartilage repair in the weight-bearing area, the scaffolds should have good mechanical property, which ensure not to undergo severe deformation and structural damage when loaded. In addition, the new cartilage tissue has sufficient mechanical strength to support sustained longitudinal pressure and wear. For cartilage defects in the inflammatory state, both inflammation management and cartilage defect repair should be considered, and introduction of mesenchymal stem cells can regulate immune function and promote tissue regeneration, such that articular cartilage defect can be completely repaired.