New Insights into Cartilage Tissue Engineering: Improvement of Tissue-Scaffold Integration to Enhance Cartilage Regeneration

Abstract

Distinctive characteristics of articular cartilage such as avascularity and low chondrocyte conversion rate present numerous challenges for orthopedists. Tissue engineering is a novel approach that ameliorates the regeneration process by exploiting the potential of cells, biodegradable materials, and growth factors. However, problems exist with the use of tissue-engineered construct, the most important of which is scaffold-cartilage integration. Recently, many attempts have been made to address this challenge via manipulation of cellular, material, and biomolecular composition of engineered tissue. Hence, in this review, we highlight strategies that facilitate cartilage-scaffold integration. Recent advances in where efficient integration between a scaffold and native cartilage could be achieved are emphasized, in addition to the positive aspects and remaining problems that will drive future research.