Articular cartilage injuries are common in the population. The increment in the elderly people and active life results in an increasing demand for new technologies and good outcomes to satisfy longer and healthier life expectancies. However, because of cartilage's low regenerative capacity, finding an efficacious treatment is still challenging for orthopedics. Since the pioneering studies based on autologous cell transplantation, regenerative medicine has opened new approaches for cartilage lesion treatment. Tissue engineering combines cells, biomaterials, and biological factors to regenerate damaged tissues, overcoming conventional therapeutic strategies. Cells synthesize matrix structural components, maintain tissue homeostasis by modulating metabolic, inflammatory, and immunologic pathways. Scaffolds are well acknowledged by clinicians in regenerative applications since they provide the appropriate environment for cells, can be easily implanted, reduce surgical morbidity, allow enhanced cell proliferation, maturation, and an efficient and complete integration with surrounding articular cartilage. Growth factors are molecules that facilitate tissue healing and regeneration by stimulating cell signal pathways. To date, different cell sources and a wide range of natural and synthetic scaffolds have been used both in pre-clinical and clinical studies with the aim to find the suitable solution for recapitulating cartilage microenvironment and inducing the formation of a new tissue with the biochemical and mechanical properties of the native one. Here, we describe the current concepts for articular cartilage regeneration, highlighting the key actors of this process trying to identify the best perspectives.

中文翻译：

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关节软骨再生的当前概念和前景

关节软骨损伤在人群中很常见。老年人和积极生活的增加导致对新技术和良好结果的需求增加，以满足更长和更健康的预期寿命。然而，由于软骨的再生能力低，寻找有效的治疗方法对于骨科来说仍然具有挑战性。自基于自体细胞移植的开创性研究以来，再生医学为软骨损伤的治疗开辟了新的途径。组织工程结合细胞、生物材料和生物因子来再生受损组织，克服了传统的治疗策略。细胞合成基质结构成分，通过调节代谢、炎症和免疫途径来维持组织稳态。支架在再生应用中得到了临床医生的广泛认可，因为它们为细胞提供了适当的环境，可以轻松植入，降低手术发病率，促进细胞增殖、成熟以及与周围关节软骨的有效和完全整合。生长因子是通过刺激细胞信号通路促进组织愈合和再生的分子。迄今为止，不同的细胞来源和广泛的天然和合成支架已被用于临床前和临床研究，旨在寻找合适的解决方案来概括软骨微环境并通过生化和诱导新组织的形成。本机的机械性能之一。在这里，我们描述了关节软骨再生的当前概念，