ABSTRACT
This chapter contains a review of the biochemical and mechanical aspects of tissue engineering with special emphasis on cartilage engineering. It introduces basic notions of signal transduction through a cellular membrane. While immature articular cartilage contains vessels that circulate nutrients, adult articular cartilage is aneural, avascular and alymphatic. Nutrients from the synovial joint are transported by the extracellular fluid through diffusion and convection. Therefore the self-healing capacities of adult articular cartilage are practically nil. Cartilage homeostasis depends on the balance between anabolic and catabolic peptides. Insulin-like growth factor-I is an important anabolic polypeptide for articular cartilage. It enhances the metabolism of cartilage, increasing the proliferation of chondrocytes and the synthesis of the components of cartilage, namely collagen, glycosaminoglycans and hyaluronan, and inhibiting their degradation.
