Neuro-immune-vascular-stem cell crosstalk in bone/cartilage regeneration: mechanisms, technological advances, and clinical perspectives

hrough directions such as optimizing targeted regulatory strategies, developing intelligent biomaterials, and integrating multi-disciplinary technologies. Notably, the traditional M1/M2 macrophage dichotomy can no longer capture the high heterogeneity of immune cells. Recent single-cell omics studies have identified multiple functionally distinct macrophage subsets in the bone/cartilage regeneration microenvironment. This discovery provides a new perspective for precise immune regulation strategies and also underscores the limitations of the traditional classification framework. Overall, this review aims to establish a systematic framework for understanding the complex regulatory mechanisms of bone/cartilage regeneration and offer theoretical support and research insights for the development of efficient repair strategies.