Cartilage
Cartilage as a strong supportive connective tissue is found in many areas of the human
body including ribs, nose, ear, trachea, and intervertebral disc and is an important
component of the joints. It has dense and highly organized ECM embedding chondrocytes.
Three types of cartilages are hyaline (articular), elastic, and fibrocartilage that possess an
avascular structure leading to a hypoxic environment with little capacity for self-repair,
especially in the case of severe damage due to trauma or age-related degeneration.
The figure demonstrates Mesenchymal stem cell contribution to cartilage regeneration by
several mechanisms including response to inflammation condition and differentiation
through production of a variety of mediators.
Stem Cell Res Ther. 2020; 11: 492.
