Tissue engineering of articular cartilage in the lab is a promising approach for tissue repair of diarthrodial joints that are affected by osteoarthritis. However, the integrative properties of the engineered tissues are not well-understood, leading to a poor integration of these engineered constructs with the host natives tissues following implantation. Osteoarthritis is a joint disease that affects more than 40 million people in Europe. The overall mobility of the patients with osteoarthritis is severely limited due to pain and swelling of the affected joints, thereby predisposing the patients, especially of the elderly, to high risk of other morbidities such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. Determination of an effective treatment strategy for osteoarthritis is crucial to meet the medical need of this patient group. In addition, the economic burden due to the medical treatments, down time and reduced working life of the affected patients can be reduced if a breakthrough is made in the area of tissue engineering. The over-arching goal of the current project was aimed at identifying the optimal distribution of material stiffness and cell density within the engineered constructs for enhanced functional integration of the engineered tissue constructs with host tissues post-implantation. Laboratory identification of the optimal material properties and cell distribution is extremely labour-, cost-, and time-consuming. Therefore, the current project proposed an in silico approach through the development of an advanced computational model capable of predicting the mechanical growth stimuli for cells residing in the biomaterials and the host tissue to which the engineered construct is implanted. The computational material model is able to provide insight into the mechanism of cell mechano-biology that is crucial for the understanding of cell responses to various forms of mechanical stimuli.
Conclusion of the actions
The progress of this fellowship was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially during the year of 2021. Nevertheless, most goals initially set out for the proposal are achieved. In total, this fellowship leads to 9 peer-reviewed publications, 7 conference abstracts, and 4 manuscripts that are under preparation. The research output generated through this fellowship improves the current understanding of cartilage growth and degeneration, as well as the design of biomaterials used for tissue engineering.
