pages 1-57

	Download article
	Download MARC record
	Add to Citation Manager Click EndNote icon to dowload the citation in the EndNote format Click RefWorks icon to dowload the citation in the RefWorks format Click BibTex icon to dowload the citation in the BibTex format

The Role of Tissue Engineering in Articular Cartilage Repair and Regeneration

Lijie Zhang
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Davis, California, USA

Jerry Hu
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Davis, California, USA

Kyriacos A. Athanasiou
Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA

ABSTRACT

Articular cartilage repair and regeneration continue to be largely intractable because of the poor regenerative properties of this tissue. The field of articular cartilage tissue engineering, which aims to repair, regenerate, and/or improve injured or diseased articular cartilage functionality, has evoked intense interest and holds great potential for improving articular cartilage therapy. This review provides an overall description of the current state of and progress in articular cartilage repair and regeneration. Traditional therapies and related problems are introduced. More importantly, a variety of promising cell sources, biocompatible tissue engineered scaffolds, scaffoldless techniques, growth factors, and mechanical stimuli used in current articular cartilage tissue engineering are reviewed. Finally, the technical and regulatory challenges of articular cartilage tissue engineering and possible future directions are also discussed.

Keywords: articular cartilage, tissue engineering, regeneration, repair, scaffolds, cells, stem cells, self-assembly, bioactive factors, regulatory affairs