Tissue-engineered and cell-based therapies for cartilage defects

Regenerative medicine uses cells as therapeutic agents to heal tissues and organs. It is a rapidly evolving area of research worldwide. Cell-based therapy has emerged as a pivotal treatment approach for articular cartilage defects, recognizing the limited regenerative potential of cartilage inherent to its structural biology. Given the inherent challenges associated with the standardization of cell-based drugs compared to conventional pharmaceuticals, the evaluation of their safety and efficacy in preclinical or clinical trials incurs particular considerations. In the majority of cases, autologous chondrocytes and mesenchymal stem/stromal cells derived from various tissues become key components of cell-based therapies currently available for cartilage defects. The cell-based therapies that have been approved for clinical use vary in manufacturing methods, types of cells, and use of matrices as a cell carriers in the finished product. Furthermore, clinicians routinely use a range of surgical techniques to perform a biopsy procedure for the preparation and subsequent implantation of finished cell-based products. Each cell-based treatment option available for patients with cartilage diseases offers a particular indication, benefits, and limitations, underscoring the relevance of comparative analysis of the therapies currently used in clinical practice. This will facilitate clinicians in selecting the most suitable therapy, while researchers may potentially expand the range of diagnoses for such therapies or enhance their efficacy. This review will focus on certain cell-based therapies that have currently arrived at the stages of clinical investigation and have been approved for the treatment of cartilage defects.