Engineering gene-activated matrices for the repair of articular cartilage defect

Abstract

Cartilage tissue lacks the innate ability to repair itself effectively and is prone to significant dysfunction after damage. Damage to articular cartilage can easily lead to its more serious degeneration, which is one of the leading causes of disability in the elderly. Growth factors have been shown to promote cartilage repair. However, the structure of cartilage tissue has been shown to hinder the direct addition of protein growth factors into the traditional system because of the difficulty in controlling the amount of growth factor added and the short growth factor half-life. Developments in molecular biology and genetic engineering techniques have produced the gene-activated matrix (GAM) system for the repair of articular cartilage damage, in which a large quantity of growth factors is continuously secreted by transgenic target cells. Numerous studies have established GAM treatment as a new therapeutic approach for repairing cartilage damage.