title: Current concepts in stem cell therapy for articular cartilage repair.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hyaline articular cartilage is the connective tissue responsible for frictionless joint movement. Its degeneration ultimately results in complete loss of joint function in the late stages of osteoarthritis. Intrinsic repair is compromised, and cartilage tissue regeneration is difficult. However, new options are available to repair cartilage tissue by applying ESCs, MSCs and CPCs.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this review, the authors shed light on the different concepts currently under investigation for cartilage repair.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  So far, there is no way to derive a chondrogenic lineage from stem cells that forms functional hyaline cartilage tissue in vivo. One alternative might be to enhance the chondrogenic potential of repair cells, which are already present in diseased cartilage tissue. CPCs found in diseased cartilage tissue in situ are biologically driven toward the osteochondrogenic lineage and can be directed toward chondrogenesis at least in vitro.
authors: Georg August University, Tissue Regeneration Work Group, Department of Prosthodontics, Goettingen, Germany.
authors: Hayat
authors: H
authors: Muhammad
authors: Boris
authors: B
authors: Schminke
authors: Nicolai
authors: N
authors: Miosge
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology; D064987:Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy / Q000639:trends; D020219:Chondrogenesis / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D012038:Regeneration / Q000502:physiology; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000639:trends*