Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Cartilage repair is the main target of tissue engineering, which need better understanding of cellular biological characteristics.
OBJECTIVE: To discuss the sources and culture conditions, especially effective factors, such as cell concentration, cytokine, matrix, as well as oxygen tension in cartilage repair.
METHODS: Chinese Biomedical Database, CNKI, VIP and PubMed were retrieved by computer using key words of “cartilage injury; cartilage repair” both in Chinese and English. Additionally, related books were manual retrieved. And the literature concerning cartilage sources, culture conditions that promote differentiation, as well as Cellular biological characteristics of cartilage repair were included.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: During repair of defects with debridement, stem cells in bone marrow were exposed, which participated in reparation. Similarly, when adding chondrocytes into defect area, followed by periosteum coverage, the formed cell density could activate the expression of SOX-9. Up to date, the controlling methods of load, chemistry and matrices are still at the starting step. Thus, it is necessary to biological integrate natural materials with artificial tissues to provide a better understanding of cartilage repair in clinic.