DOI: 10.1002/advs.202207715 ISSN: 2198-3844

Arthritic Microenvironment‐Dictated Fate Decisions for Stem Cells in Cartilage Repair

Songlin He, Haotian Deng, Peiqi Li, Jingjing Hu, Yongkang Yang, Ziheng Xu, Shuyun Liu, Weimin Guo, Quanyi Guo
  • General Physics and Astronomy
  • General Engineering
  • Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (miscellaneous)
  • General Materials Science
  • General Chemical Engineering
  • Medicine (miscellaneous)

Abstract

The microenvironment and stem cell fate guidance of post‐traumatic articular cartilage regeneration is primarily the focus of cartilage tissue engineering. In articular cartilage, stem cells are characterized by overlapping lineages and uneven effectiveness. Within the first 12 weeks after trauma, the articular inflammatory microenvironment (AIME) plays a decisive role in determining the fate of stem cells and cartilage. The development of fibrocartilage and osteophyte hyperplasia is an adverse outcome of chronic inflammation, which results from an imbalance in the AIME during the cartilage tissue repair process. In this review, the sources for the different types of stem cells and their fate are summarized. The main pathophysiological events that occur within the AIME as well as their protagonists are also discussed. Additionally, regulatory strategies that may guide the fate of stem cells within the AIME are proposed. Finally, strategies that provide insight into AIME pathophysiology are discussed and the design of new materials that match the post‐traumatic progress of AIME pathophysiology in a spatial and temporal manner is guided. Thus, by regulating an appropriately modified inflammatory microenvironment, efficient stem cell‐mediated tissue repair may be achieved.

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