**Mr. Kalpaxis Dimitrios (MD)**

Physiotherapist, Central Clinic of Athens, Greece

**1**

**Chapter 1**

**Abstract**

interactions.

**1. Introduction**

medicine [1].

implantation [2].

nance of articular function [1].

function, which are difficult to handle clinically [1].

Regeneration

*and Roberto Lopes de Souza*

Cartilage Tissue Engineering and

*Francisco Sousa Segundo, Marcelo Jorge Cavalcanti de Sá*

Cartilaginous tissue is mainly present in the joints, and it consists predominantly

of type II collagen and glycoproteins, which promote functions of supporting biomechanical forces generated during the ambulation. The cartilage has a very limited regenerating capacity, causing traumas or degenerative diseases in this region difficult to solve. The current treatments for regeneration of the articular cartilages may be conservative or surgical, but they are not very successful, since the damaged tissue is replaced by fibrous tissue or fibrocartilage, with predominantly type I collagen, which present inferior functions. Cellular therapies, biomaterials, and tissue engineering to assist the healing process have been showing great potential. For example, the in vitro chondrogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is a technique that stimulates undifferentiated cells to transform into chondrocytes, creating a dense mass of aggregated MSCs and an environment with strong cell-cell

**Keywords:** biomaterials, cell therapy, joint, tissue repair, regenerative medicine

Joint diseases such as osteoarthritis can cause important lesions in the articular cartilage; in humans, this pathology can affect a significant proportion of patients over 60 years of age, causing a great negative impact on their quality of life. This increased the search for an effective treatment the objective of several researches, often seeking the cooperation of several areas of knowledge; however the difficulty in repairing articular defects in an effective way is becoming a real challenge for

The cartilaginous tissue present in the joints is a highly organized and specialized tissue, presenting several fundamental mechanical proprieties for the mainte-

The lesions caused in this tissue from trauma or degenerative diseases cause a gradual damage to the tissue, leading to joint pain and consequent impairment in its

Thus, cases of severe joint disease are usually treated surgically, either through osteotomies and the application of autologous subchondral grafts, reducing the progression of the cartilage lesion and promoting return to joint function, or, in more severe cases, complete articular replacement through prosthesis
