Cell Based Therapy for Articular Cartilage Regeneration; Past, Present & Future

The articular cartilage around the knee joint is specialized for load bearing along with the transmission of sheer forces to the underlying bone. A damage to the cartilage following injuries, loading & aging can lead to the development of degenerative joint disorders (osteoarthritis). Treatment of large articular cartilage defects is technically difficult and complex, often accompanied by failure. Articular cartilage cannot repair itself after injury due to a lack of blood vessels, lymph, and nerves. The repair has been attempted by the various cartilage repair surgeries with a varying success rate & none with a perfect solution. New minimally invasive and effective techniques are being developed. The development of cell based & tissue engineering technology has created a hope for articular cartilage reconstruction. This technology supplies stem cells with various sources of pluripotent and mesenchymal stem cells directed towards a hyaline cartilaginous differentiation to augment the repair techniques & holds a promise for the future [1]. The review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and MetaAnalyses) guidelines. The search terms used were Articular Cartilage Repair & Knee with 23,8864 results: further narrowing down to 303 studies over the past 10 years involving the use of PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma), chondrocytes & exosomes.