Improving orthopedic use of stem cell engineering: A mini-review

Abstract

Cell-based therapies for cartilage regeneration have gained popularity as a potential solution to the ongoing problem of articular cartilage repair in orthopedic surgery. There have been some successes with autologous chondrocyte implantation, but there are also some drawbacks. These include limited donor sites, donor site morbidity, dedifferentiation of isolated chondrocytes during monolayer expansion, and poor integration of repair tissue into the native cartilage. The potential of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as a replacement cell source has so gained popularity. Self-renewing, highly expandable, and capable of developing into chondrocytes and osteoblasts, MSCs are very simple to separate. In this review, we focus on current developments in tissue engineering that use the so-called tissue engineering trio of mesenchymal stem cells, biomaterial scaffolds, and chondrogenic signals to generate effective cartilage tissue substitutes.