Human cartilage grown in lab conditions for the first time

Scientists have successfully grown fully functional human cartilage from human stem cells derived from fat tissue, says research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Previous work has seen researchers make cartilage using young animal cells, but until now nobody has been able to reproduce the results using adult human stem cells from bone marrow or fat (the most practical stem cell source).
Now a team from Columbia Engineering in the US has used a different tissue-engineering approach and successfully grown cartilage with high lubricative properties and compressive strength.
“We’ve been able – for the first time – to generate fully functional human cartilage from mesenchymal stem cells by mimicking in vitro the developmental process of mesenchymal condensation,” says Prof Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, who led the study. “This could have clinical impact, as this cartilage can be used to repair a cartilage defect, or in combination with bone in a composite graft grown in lab for more complex tissue reconstruction.”
The team plans next to test whether the engineered cartilage tissue maintains its structure and long-term function when implanted into a defect.
“This is a very exciting time for tissue engineers,” says Prof Vunjak-Novakovic. “Stem cells are transforming the future of medicine, offering ways to overcome some of the human body’s fundamental limitations. We bioengineers are now working with stem cell scientists and clinicians to develop technologies that will make this dream possible.”