Current Strategies in Osteochondral Repair with Biomaterial Scaffold

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common disease defined as degenerative arthritis or joint disease involving degradation of articular cartilage and subchondral bone, and it could potentially affect the quality of life of elderly populations worldwide. The management of OA remains challenging and controversial. Although there are several clinical options for the treatment of OA, regeneration of the damaged articular cartilage has proven difficult due to the limited healing capacity. With the advancements in tissue engineering approaches including cell-based technologies and development of biomaterial scaffolds over the past decade, new therapeutic options for patients with osteochondral lesions potentially exist. This chapter will focus on the feasibility of tissue-engineered biomaterial scaffolds, which can mimic the native osteochondral complex, for osteochondral repair and highlight the recent development of these techniques toward tissue regeneration, which will contribute to osteochondral repair for the patients who are involved with an incurable OA treated by traditional procedures. Moreover, basic anatomy, strategy for osteochondral repair, and the design and fabrication methods of scaffolds as well as the choice of cells, growth factor, and materials will be discussed. Specifically, we focus on the latest preclinical animal studies using large animals and clinical trials with high clinical relevance. Accordingly, this will contribute to an understanding of the latest trends in osteochondral repair and future application of such clinical therapies in patients with OA.