Cartilage defects heal imperfectly and osteoarthritic changes develop frequently as a result. Although the existence of specific behaviours of chondrocytes derived from various depth-related zones in vitro has been known for over 20 years, only a relatively small body of in vitro studies has been performed with zonal chondrocytes and current clinical treatment strategies do not reflect these native depth-dependent (zonal) differences. This is surprising since mimicking the zonal organization of articular cartilage in neo-tissue by the use of zonal chondrocyte subpopulations could enhance the functionality of the graft. Although some research groups including our own have made considerable progress in tailoring culture conditions using specific growth factors and biomechanical loading protocols, we conclude that an optimal regime has not yet been determined. Other unmet challenges include the lack of specific zonal cell sorting protocols and limited amounts of cells harvested per zone. As a result, the engineering of functional tissue has not yet been realized and no long-term in vivo studies using zonal chondrocytes have been described. This paper critically reviews the research performed to date and outlines our view of the potential future significance of zonal chondrocyte populations in regenerative approaches for the treatment of cartilage defects. Secondly, we briefly discuss the capabilities of additive manufacturing technologies that can not only create patient-specific grafts directly from medical imaging data sets but could also more accurately reproduce the complex 3D zonal extracellular matrix architecture using techniques such as hydrogel-based cell printing.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/term.1638 | DOI Listing |
JB JS Open Access
January 2025
Gluck Equine Research Center, Department of Veterinary Science, Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.
Background: Therapies for cartilage restoration are of great interest, but current options provide limited results. In salamanders, interzone (IZN) tissue can regenerate large joint lesions. The mammalian homolog to this tissue exists during fetal development and exhibits remarkable chondrogenesis in vitro.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBioinformatics
October 2024
School of Computing, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-4155, United States.
Summary: vSPACE is a web-based application presenting a spatial representation of scRNAseq data obtained from human articular cartilage by emulating the concept of spatial transcriptomics technology, but virtually. This virtual 2D plot presentation of human articular cartage cells generates several zonal distribution patterns, for one or multiple genes at a time, revealing patterns that scientists can appreciate as imputed spatial distribution patterns along the zonal axis.
Availability And Implementation: vSPACE is implemented in Python Dash as a web-based toolbox designed for data visualization of zonal gene expression patterns in articular cartilage chondrocytes.
Bioact Mater
June 2024
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, No.600 Yishan Road, Shanghai, 200233, China.
The integrative regeneration of both articular cartilage and subchondral bone remains an unmet clinical need due to the difficulties of mimicking spatial complexity in native osteochondral tissues for artificial implants. Layer-by-layer fabrication strategies, such as 3D printing, have emerged as a promising technology replicating the stratified zonal architecture and varying microstructures and mechanical properties. However, the dynamic and circulating physiological environments, such as mass transportation or cell migration, usually distort the pre-confined biological properties in the layered implants, leading to undistinguished spatial variations and subsequently inefficient regenerations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Sports Med
March 2024
Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Background: Bioengineered cartilage is a developing therapeutic to repair cartilage defects. The matrix must be rich in collagen type II and aggrecan and mechanically competent, withstanding compressive and shearing loads. Biomechanical properties in native articular cartilage depend on the zonal architecture consisting of 3 zones: superficial, middle, and deep.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOsteoarthritis Cartilage
June 2024
Department of Oral Anatomy and Physiology and TMD, College of Stomatology, the Fourth Military Medical University. Xi'an, China; Department of Oral Anatomy and Physiology and TMD, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Craniomaxillofacial Development and Diseases, Shanghai Stomatological Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. Electronic address:
Objective: Ageing and aberrant biomechanical stimulation are two major risk factors for osteoarthritis (OA). One of the main characteristics of aged cartilage is cellular senescence. One of the main characteristics of osteoarthritic joints is cartilage degeneration.
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