ABSTRACT
The limited ability of articular cartilage for self-repair of defects due to injury or disease persists as a challenge for orthopedic medicine. Tissue engineering approaches combining cells, bioactive molecules and biocompatible/biodegradable scaffolds in scalable bioreactors for regeneration of functional cartilage tissues hold promise. Successful creation of tissue substitutes requires a thorough understanding of environmental factors that regulate cellular behavior and tissue formation. In this review, we focus on the influence of microenvironmental stimuli on cultivation of neocartilage within bioreactors and on stem cell differentiation. Exploiting the synergy between cells, biochemical signals, biophysi-cal cues, and mechanical forces to optimize the correct combination of parameters that mimic the native microenvironment is an important step toward the development of clinically relevant cartilage tissue replacements.
