Articular Cartilage Injury; Current Status and Future Direction

Today, treatments of cartilage and osteochondral lesions are routine clinical procedures. The avascular and hard-to-self-repair nature of cartilage tissue has posed a clinical challenge for the replacement and reconstruction of damaged cartilage. Treatment of large articular cartilage defects is technically difficult and complex, often accompanied by failure. Articular cartilage cannot repair itself after injury due to a lack of blood vessels, lymph, and nerves. Various treatments for cartilage regeneration have shown encouraging results, but unfortunately, none have been the perfect solution. New minimally invasive and effective techniques are being developed. The development of tissue engineering technology has created hope for articular cartilage reconstruction. This technology mainly supplies stem cells with various sources of pluripotent and mesenchymal stem cells. This article describes the treatments in detail, including types, grades of cartilage lesions, and immune mechanisms in cartilage injuries.