Defects in articular cartilage injury and chronic osteoarthritis are very widespread and common,
and the ability of injured cartilage to repair itself is limited. Stem cell-based cartilage tissue
engineering provides a promising therapeutic option for articular cartilage damage. However, the application
of the technique is limited by the number, source, proliferation, and differentiation of stem
cells. The co-culture of mesenchymal stem cells and chondrocytes is available for cartilage tissue engineering,
and mechanical stimulation is an important factor that should not be ignored. A combination
of these two approaches, i.e., co-culture of mesenchymal stem cells and chondrocytes under mechanical
stimulation, can provide sufficient quantity and quality of cells for cartilage tissue engineering,
and when combined with scaffold materials and cytokines, this approach ultimately achieves the
purpose of cartilage repair and reconstruction. In this review, we focus on the effects of co-culture and
mechanical stimulation on mesenchymal stem cells and chondrocytes for articular cartilage tissue
engineering. An in-depth understanding of the impact of co-culture and mechanical stimulation of
mesenchymal stem cells and chondrocytes can facilitate the development of additional strategies for
articular cartilage tissue engineering.
Stemming cartilage degeneration: Adult mesenchymal stem cells as a cell source for articular cartilage tissue engineering
