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Tissue engineering as a technology and as a therapeutic has captured worldwide attention and commitmentbecause it has such potential in the care of humanity. Because we are not as yet able to craft robust three dimensional vascular and ductal structures to support the development of complex parenchymal organs, the initial focus of the field has been on thin tissues that can be nourished by diffusion alone.The best example of this class is cartilage. Thought by some to be a relatively simple tissue in the early days of tissue engineering, deep study of this tissue has shown it to manifest great complexity.Yearsof experimental and clinical effort have begun to untangle the clues that will allow us to reproducibly characterize, gener ate and clinically apply engineered cartilage with positive effects.World wide researchers and clinicians are intently focused on this goal and it has come time to step back and make a good assessment of our progress.
List of contents
I: Basics.- 1 Anatomy and Biochemistry of Articular Cartilage.- 2 Cartilage Injury and Repair.- II: Clinical Results.- 3 Autologous Chondrocyte Transplantation (ACT) - Long-Term Results.- 4 EURACT Study: A 24-Month Follow-up Multicenter Study of 84 Knees Treated with Autologous Chondrocyte Transplantation (ACT).- 5 Clinical Results of Autologous Chondrocyte Transplantation (ACT) Using a Collagen Membrane.- 6 Treatment of Chondral Defects by Matrix-Guided Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation (MACI).- 7 Transplantation of Osteochondral Autografts.- III: Tissue Engineering.- 8 Engineering Cartilage Structures.- IV: Biomaterials.- 9 Homogeneously Cross-Linked Scaffolds Based on Clinical-Grade Alginate for Transplantation and Tissue Engineering.- 10 Collagen and Hyaluronic Acid.- 11 Biodegradable Polymers.- 12 Photo-oxidized Osteochondral Transplants.- V: Cells for Cartilage Repair.- 13 Chondrocytes.- 14 Quality Assurance of Autologous Chondrocyte Transplantation (ACT).- 15 Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells: Isolation, Characterization and Chondrogenic Differentiation.- VI: Experimental in Vivo Results.- 16 Chondrocytes and Polymer Fleeces.- 17 Chondrocytes and Fibrin Glue.- 18 Chondrocytes and Collagen Gels.- 19 Fabrication of Cartilage-Polymer Constructs for Articular Cartilage Repair.- 20 Differentiation of Human and Murine Chondrogenic Cells Encapsulated in Ultra-High Viscosity Alginate.- VII: Future Perspectives.- 21 Skeletal Tissue Engineering in Cartilage Replacement: Future Perspectives and the New Age of Regenerative Medicine.
Summary
Tissue engineering as a technology and as a therapeutic has captured worldwide attention and commitmentbecause it has such potential in the care of humanity. Because we are not as yet able to craft robust three dimensional vascular and ductal structures to support the development of complex parenchymal organs, the initial focus of the field has been on thin tissues that can be nourished by diffusion alone.The best example of this class is cartilage. Thought by some to be a relatively simple tissue in the early days of tissue engineering, deep study of this tissue has shown it to manifest great complexity.Yearsof experimental and clinical effort have begun to untangle the clues that will allow us to reproducibly characterize, gener ate and clinically apply engineered cartilage with positive effects.World wide researchers and clinicians are intently focused on this goal and it has come time to step back and make a good assessment of our progress.
