Progress in Articular Cartilage Tissue Engineering: A Review on Therapeutic Cells and Macromolecular Scaffolds

Repair and regeneration of articular cartilage lesions have always been a major challenge in the medical field due to its peculiar structure (e.g., sparsely distributed chondrocytes, no blood supply, no nerves). Articular cartilage tissue engineering is considered as one promising strategy to achieve reconstruction of cartilage. With this perspective, the articular cartilage tissue engineering has been widely studied. Here, the recent progress of articular cartilage tissue engineering is reviewed. The ad hoc therapeutic cells and growth factors for cartilage regeneration are summarized and discussed. Various types of bio/macromolecular scaffolds together with their pros and cons are also reviewed and elaborated. Articular cartilage injury remains a common clinical problem and lacks effective methods for treatments. Tissue engineering provides promising strategies for the repair and regeneration of defective cartilage. The present paper reviews recent researches of articular cartilage tissue engineering with the current state‐of‐the‐art of macromolecular scaffolds and therapeutic cells as well as growth factors.