Engineering cartilage and bone using human mesenchymal stem cells

Excerpt

Cartilage and bone defects are leading causes of disability. The economic burden of orthopedic repair exceeds 28 billion dollars per year in the United States alone,1 and the situation is similar in many other countries. Although artificial joints or metal inserts are widely utilized and in most cases work well, cell-based therapies based on tissue-engineered cartilage and bone beckon a new frontier for clinical treatment owing to their biocompatibility and long-term prognosis. Functional tissue engineering2 involves an integrated use of three components — cells, scaffold material, and a bioreactor (Fig. 1), — in settings that mimic some elements of the in vivo environment. Synergistic interactions of biomimetic cues applied with temporal and spatial regulation influence cell growth and biosynthesis and guide cellular development into functional replacement tissue constructs. This article discusses the design criteria and parameters essential for engineering cartilage and bone grafts as well as the current status and future perspective of the field.

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