ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the overall growth, maturation, and life of articular cartilage through skeletal maturity and aging. Classically, developmental biology has focused on articular cartilage from initial limb bud formation and chondrogenesis in utero until formation of an initial anlage of cartilage tissue shortly before birth. In cartilage development, the main molecules active in cell adhesion are the cadherins and integrins. Integrins are heterodimeric transmembrane proteins that interact with both the extracellular matrix and the intracellular actin cytoskeleton through focal adhesions and play a key role in transducing extracellular signals into the cytoskeleton. The chapter begins our discussion of cartilage formation from embryonic limb bud development to the formation of the synovial joint. It explains how postnatal cartilage matures and changes with age to both skeletal maturity and beyond. The chapter discusses the exogenous morphogens and growth factors that feed into the signaling pathways and transcription factors during the life of cartilage.
