Gao J, Yao J Q, Caplan A I
Zimmer Biologics, Zimmer, Inc., Austin, Texas 78729, USA.
Proc Inst Mech Eng H. 2007 Jul;221(5):441-50. doi: 10.1243/09544119JEIM257.
Articular cartilage injuries are one of the most common disorders in the musculo-skeletal system. Injured cartilage tissue cannot spontaneously heal and, if not treated, can lead to osteoarthritis of the affected joints. Although a variety of procedures are being employed to repair cartilage damage, methods that result in consistent durable repair tissue are not yet available. Tissue engineering is a recently developed science that merges the fields of cell biology, engineering, material science, and surgery to regenerate new functional tissue. Three critical components in tissue engineering of cartilage are as follows: first, sufficient cell numbers within the defect, such as chondrocytes or multipotent stem cells capable of differentiating into chondrocytes; second, access to growth and differentiation factors that modulate these cells to differentiate through the chondrogenic lineage; third, a cell carrier or matrix that fills the defect, delivers the appropriate cells, and supports cell proliferation and differentiation. Stem cells that exist in the embyro or in adult somatic tissues are able to renew themselves through cell division without changing their phenotype and are able to differentiate into multiple lineages including the chondrogenic lineage under certain physiological or experimental conditions. Here the application of stem cells as a cell source for cartilage tissue engineering is reviewed.
关节软骨损伤是肌肉骨骼系统中最常见的病症之一。受损的软骨组织无法自行愈合，若不治疗，会导致患关节的骨关节炎。尽管目前采用了多种方法来修复软骨损伤，但仍未找到能产生持久修复组织的方法。组织工程学是一门新兴科学，它融合了细胞生物学、工程学、材料科学和外科学等领域，旨在再生新的功能组织。软骨组织工程的三个关键要素如下：其一，缺损部位要有足够数量的细胞，如软骨细胞或能够分化为软骨细胞的多能干细胞；其二，要有促进这些细胞通过软骨形成谱系进行分化的生长和分化因子；其三，要有一种细胞载体或基质来填充缺损部位，输送合适的细胞，并支持细胞增殖和分化。胚胎或成体体细胞组织中存在的干细胞能够通过细胞分裂自我更新，而不改变其表型，并且在某些生理或实验条件下能够分化为包括软骨形成谱系在内的多个谱系。本文将对干细胞作为软骨组织工程细胞来源的应用进行综述。
