Repair and tissue engineering techniques for articular cartilage

The limited ability of articular cartilage to regenerate has prompted the development of cell-based tissue engineering techniques, such as autologous chondrocyte implantationThe complexity of autologous chondrocyte implantation and contraindications in wide clinical application have driven the development of matrix-assisted chondrocyte implantation, which uses scaffolds to provide mechanical stability and support chondrogenesisTo improve neotissue formation, graft maturation and biomechanical integrity, cells can be cultured in vitro before implantation on 3D matrices with exogenous stimuli, such as growth factorsBiomaterials such as collagen type I and III membranes are also used in cell-free approaches to enhance cartilage's innate regenerative capacity by functioning as scaffolds for resident progenitor cellsScaffold-free, cell-based techniques to form biomimetic neotissues, which can avoid disadvantages of scaffold use such as limited biocompatibility and release of degradation byproducts, are now in developmentDespite promising results and advances in cartilage tissue engineering, translation into clinical practice has not yet been achieved, as many challenges remain to be resolved