Scientists have managed to create cartilage from stem cells:
http://news.bbc.co.u...lth/4441802.stm
I can imagine that the professional sports industries may be interested in this.
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Posted 27 March 2009 - 03:39 PM
Now Klein has discovered a possible solution. Working with colleagues in the UK, he's developed molecular brushes that slide past each other with friction coefficients that match those of cartilage. In some respects, they perform even better: the brushes remain highly effective even at pressures of 7.5 megapascals. Cartilage performs well only up to around 5 megapascals – a natural limit because joint pressure only rarely exceeds that level.
Each 60-nanometre-long brush filament has a polymer backbone from which small molecular groups stick out. Those synthetic groups are very similar to the lipids found in cell membranes, says Klein – although they're neutral overall, they are positively charged at one end and negatively charged at the other.
In a watery environment, each of these molecular groups attracts up to 25 water molecules through electrostatic forces, so the filament as a whole develops a slick watery sheath. These sheathes ensure that the brushes are lubricated as they rub past each other, even when firmly pressed together to mimic the pressures at bone joints.
Posted 13 April 2009 - 07:43 PM
The researchers discovered that cartilage from humans with late-stage OA contains a unique population of progenitor cells called chondrogenic progenitor cells (CPC). The CPCs, which were not present in healthy cartilage, exhibited many characteristics associated with tissue-specific stem cells, including migratory activity and the potential to generate new cartilage. Although the origin of the CPCs was not clear, there was some evidence that they migrated from the bone marrow.
Taken together, the findings establish CPCs as an exciting future target for stimulating the repair and regeneration of damaged cartilage. "Our results offer new insights into the biology of progenitor cells in the context of diseased cartilage tissue," offers Dr. Miosge. "We hope ultimately to work towards utilizing these cells—which are already present in diseased tissue—for the development of regenerative OA therapies." Additional research is needed to identify the optimal conditions for promoting and sustaining the cartilage-producing potential of CPCs.
Posted 12 May 2009 - 03:39 AM
In an effort to truly regenerate cartilage rather than simply patch it, Tuan and his colleagues have developed a nanofiber scaffold that's structurally similar to the extracellular matrix, a fibrous material that provides support to connective tissue in the body.The scaffold is generated via electrospinning, a process adopted from the textiles industry. The researchers apply a strong electric field to a liquid polymer, which forms into long fibers in an attempt to dissipate the charge. The fibers are collected in a tangled ball, much like cotton candy.
The nanoscale structure of the material is key: experiments have shown that cells grow better on a nanoscale fiber scaffold than on a millimeter-scale one made of the same material. "These scaffolds are more on the scale of what a cell would normally see," says Farshid Guilak, director of the Orthopaedic Bioengineering Laboratory, at Duke University, in Durham, NC, who was not involved in the research.
The scaffolds are seeded with mesenchymal stem cells--adult stem cells derived from bone marrow, fatty tissue, and other sources, and which can be differentiated into muscle, bone, fat, and cartilage. "The advantage is that you don't have to damage other tissue to get the cells," says Tuan.
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Posted 08 February 2010 - 06:18 PM
Northwestern University researchers are the first to design a bioactive nanomaterial that promotes the growth of new cartilage in vivo and without the use of expensive growth factors. Minimally invasive, the therapy activates the bone marrow stem cells and produces natural cartilage. No conventional therapy can do this.
The Northwestern gel is injected as a liquid to the area of the damaged joint, where it then self-assembles and forms a solid. This extracellular matrix, which mimics what cells usually see, binds by molecular design one of the most important growth factors for the repair and regeneration of cartilage. By keeping the growth factor concentrated and localized, the cartilage cells have the opportunity to regenerate.
Posted 08 February 2010 - 06:34 PM
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