Functional tissue engineering of articular cartilage for biological joint resurfacing—The 2021 Elizabeth Winston Lanier Kappa Delta Award

Abstract

Biological resurfacing of entire articular surfaces represents a challenging strategy for the treatment of cartilage degeneration that occurs in osteoarthritis. Not only does this approach require anatomically sized and functional engineered cartilage, but the inflammatory environment within an arthritic joint may also inhibit chondrogenesis and induce degradation of native and engineered cartilage. Here, we present the culmination of multiple avenues of interdisciplinary research leading to the development and testing of bioartificial cartilage for tissue‐engineered resurfacing of the hip joint. The work is based on a novel three‐dimensional weaving technology that is infiltrated with specific bioinductive materials and/or genetically‐engineered stem cells. A variety of design approaches have been tested in vitro, showing biomimetic cartilage‐like properties as well as the capability for long‐term tunable and inducible drug delivery. Importantly, these cartilage constructs have the potential to provide mechanical functionality immediately upon implantation, as they will need to replace a majority, if not the entire joint surface to restore function. To date, these approaches have shown excellent preclinical success in a variety of animal studies, including the resurfacing of a large osteochondral defect in the canine hip, and are now well‐poised for clinical translation.

Distal femur fractures: basic science and international perspectives

“…20 In a recent canine model with a 10-mm osteochondral lesion of the femoral head, investigators demonstrated that a 3Dprinted scaffold with implanted MSCs had successful incorporation with surrounding osteochondral tissue, similar mechanical properties, and successful return to function by 6 months. 20 At present, the clinically available options for minimizing PTOA are limited to anatomic reduction and salvage/reconstruction of osteochondral fragments whenever possible. However, with progress in the above innovations, we are hopeful that other avenues for the treatment and prevention of PTOA will be available in the future.…”

“…These MSCseeded scaffolds can be further modified with gene therapy using lentivirus to promote chondrocyte differentiation and produce IL-1Ra to limit the impacts of local inflammation on differentiation. 20 In a recent canine model with a 10-mm osteochondral lesion of the femoral head, investigators demonstrated that a 3Dprinted scaffold with implanted MSCs had successful incorporation with surrounding osteochondral tissue, similar mechanical properties, and successful return to function by 6 months. 20 At present, the clinically available options for minimizing PTOA are limited to anatomic reduction and salvage/reconstruction of osteochondral fragments whenever possible.…”

“… 20 In a recent canine model with a 10-mm osteochondral lesion of the femoral head, investigators demonstrated that a 3D-printed scaffold with implanted MSCs had successful incorporation with surrounding osteochondral tissue, similar mechanical properties, and successful return to function by 6 months. 20 …”