Articular cartilage has an avascular structure with a poor ability for self-repair; therefore, many challenges arise in cases of trauma or disease. It is of utmost importance to identify the proper biomaterial for tissue repair that has the capability to direct cell recruitment, proliferation, differentiation, and tissue integration by imitating the natural microenvironment of cells and transmitting an orchestra of intracellular signals. Cartilage extracellular matrix (cECM) is a complex nanostructure composed of divergent proteins and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), which regulate many functions of resident cells. Numerous studies have shown the remarkable capacity of ECM-derived biomaterials for tissue repair and regeneration. Moreover, given the importance of biodegradability, biocompatibility, 3D structure, porosity, and mechanical stability in the design of suitable scaffolds for cartilage tissue engineering, demineralized bone matrix (DBM) appears to be a promising biomaterial for this purpose, as it possesses the aforementioned characteristics inherently. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no comprehensive review study on the use of DBM in cartilage tissue engineering has previously been published. Since so much work is needed to address DBM limitations such as pore size, cell retention, and so on, we decided to draw the attention of researchers in this field by compiling a list of recent publications. This review discusses the implementation of composite scaffolds of natural or synthetic origin functionalized with cECM or DBM in cartilage tissue engineering. Cutting-edge advances and limitations are also discussed in an attempt to provide guidance to researchers and clinicians.

关节软骨无血管结构，自我修复能力差；因此，在创伤或疾病的情况下会出现许多挑战。通过模仿细胞的自然微环境和传递细胞内信号的管弦乐，确定具有指导细胞募集、增殖、分化和组织整合能力的合适的组织修复生物材料至关重要。软骨细胞外基质 (cECM) 是一种复杂的纳米结构，由不同的蛋白质和糖胺聚糖 (GAG) 组成，可调节常驻细胞的许多功能。大量研究表明，ECM 衍生的生物材料具有显着的组织修复和再生能力。此外，鉴于生物降解性、生物相容性、3D 结构、孔隙率、在为软骨组织工程设计合适的支架和机械稳定性方面，脱矿质骨基质 (DBM) 似乎是用于此目的的有前途的生物材料，因为它固有地具有上述特性。据作者所知，之前没有发表过关于 DBM 在软骨组织工程中使用的全面综述研究。由于需要做大量工作来解决 DBM 的限制，例如孔径、细胞保留等，我们决定通过编制一份近期出版物列表来引起该领域研究人员的注意。本综述讨论了在软骨组织工程中使用 cECM 或 DBM 功能化的天然或合成来源的复合支架的实施。