Use of Chondrogenic Progenitor Cells in Osteoarthritis
Schminke B., Miosge N., Muhammad H.
It is thought that the general increase in life expectancy will make osteoarthritis the fourth leading cause of disability by the year 2020. Even though the pathogenesis of idiopathic osteoarthritis has not been fully elucidated, the main features of the disease process are the altered interactions between the chondrocytes and their surrounding extracellular matrix. In the course of these disturbances fibroblast-like chondrocytes take part in tissue regeneration especially in advanced stages of osteoarthritis. However, only fibrocartilaginous or scar tissue, since only collagen type I, and not collagen type II, typical for healthy cartilage, is synthesized. It remains a great challenge to enhance the regeneration potential of hyaline cartilage tissue. Tissue degeneration overrides the generally limited self-renewal capacity of this tissue.