Hyaline articular cartilage has been known to be a troublesome tissue to repair once damaged. Since the introduction of autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) in 1994, a renewed interest in the field of cartilage repair with new repair techniques and the hope for products that are regenerative have blossomed. This article reviews the basic science structure and function of articu...

Lacking a blood supply and having a low cellular density, articular cartilage has a minimal ability for self-repair. Therefore, wide-ranging cartilage damage rarely resolves spontaneously. Cartilage damage is typically treated by chondrocyte transplantation, mosaicplasty or microfracture. Recent advances in tissue engineering have prompted research on techniques to repair articular cartilage da...

Articular cartilage is the highly specialized connective tissue of diarthrodial joints. Its principal function is to provide a smooth, lubricated surface for articulation and to facilitate the transmission of loads with a low frictional coefficient (Figure 1). Articular cartilage is devoid of blood vessels, lymphatics, and nerves and is subject to a harsh biomechanical environment. Most importa...

BACKGROUND Articular cartilage has little capacity for repair in vivo, however, a small number of studies have shown that, in vitro, a damage/repair response can be induced. Recent work by our group has shown that cartilage can respond to single impact load and culture by producing repair cells on the articular surface. The purpose of this study was to identify whether chondrocyte outgrowth int...

Articular cartilage is characterized by its poor capacity for self-repair. Once articular cartilage is injured and defected, it cannot be spontaneously repaired and finally develops osteoarthritis (OA). OA is a major leading cause of severe activity limitations and disability, resulting in worldwide socio-economical burden. At present, there is no established therapy for adequate repair of dama...

INTRODUCTION The surgical repair of traumatic tears of the meniscus may enhance tissue remodeling, help to maintain the stability of the knee joint, and prevent osteoarthritic changes. After repair of the experimentally lacerated meniscus, treatment by intra-articular injections of hyaluronan (HA) has been shown to enhance meniscal remodeling [2]. HA treatment also appears to slow the degenerat...

Articular cartilage defects do not regenerate. Transplantation of autologous articular chondrocytes, which is clinically being performed since several decades, laid the foundation for the transplantation of genetically modified cells, which may serve the dual role of providing a cell population capable of chondrogenesis and an additional stimulus for targeted articular cartilage repair. Experim...

Articular cartilage injury poses a major challenge for both the patient and orthopaedician. Articular cartilage defects once formed do not regenerate spontaneously, rather replaced by fibrocartilage which is weaker in mechanical competence than the normal hyaline cartilage. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) along with different growth factors and scaffolds are currently incorporated in tissue engin...

This review traces the genealogy of the field of articular cartilage repair from its earliest attempts to its present day vast proliferation of research advances. Prior to the 1980s there was only sporadic efforts to regenerate articular cartilage as it was considered to be incapable of regeneration based on historical dogma. The first flurry of reports documented the use of various cell types ...

To analyze the genetic and biomolecular mechanisms underlying cartilage repair, an optimized mouse model of osteochondral repair is required. Although several models of articular cartilage injury in mice have recently been established, the articular surface in adult C57Bl/6 mice heals poorly. Since C57Bl/6 mice are the most popular strain of genetically manipulated mice, an articular cartilage ...