Tissue engineering toward temporomandibular joint disc regeneration.

Area of Science:

• Regenerative Medicine
• Biomaterials Science
• Orthopedic Surgery

Background:

• Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disc thinning and perforation are common TMJ pathologies.
• Current treatments for TMJ disc pathologies are palliative and do not promote tissue repair.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop scaffold-free, tissue-engineered implants for repairing TMJ disc thinning.
• To evaluate the efficacy of these implants in a preclinical model.

Main Methods:

• Allogeneic, passaged costal chondrocytes were used to create scaffold-free implants.
• Compressive and bioactive stimulation regimens were applied to enhance mechanical properties.
• Implant efficacy was assessed in a minipig model of TMJ disc thinning.

Main Results:

• Tissue-engineered implants exhibited mechanical properties similar to native TMJ discs.
• Implant treatment resulted in 4.4 times more complete defect closure compared to controls.
• Repair tissue was 3.4-fold stiffer, and intralaminar fusion was 3.2-fold stiffer.
• Osteoarthritis scores were 3.0-fold lower in the implant-treated group.

Conclusions:

• Scaffold-free tissue engineering with costal chondrocytes offers a reparative strategy for TMJ disc thinning.
• This approach successfully restored disc integrity and reduced degenerative changes in a preclinical model.
• Tissue-engineered implants represent a promising avenue for clinical TMJ disorder treatment.