Nau T, Teuschl A. Regeneration of the anterior cruciate ligament: Current strategies in tissue engineering. World J Orthop 2015; 6(1): 127-136 [PMID: 25621217 DOI: 10.5312/wjo.v6.i1.127]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Thomas Nau, MD, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Experimental and Clinical Traumatology/AUVA Research Center, Donaueschingenstraße 13, 1200 Vienna, Austria. office@traumanau.com
Research Domain of This Article
Orthopedics
Article-Type of This Article
Review
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Orthop. Jan 18, 2015; 6(1): 127-136 Published online Jan 18, 2015. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v6.i1.127
Regeneration of the anterior cruciate ligament: Current strategies in tissue engineering
Thomas Nau, Andreas Teuschl
Thomas Nau, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Experimental and Clinical Traumatology/AUVA Research Center, 1200 Vienna, Austria
Thomas Nau, IMSART-Institute of Musculoskeletal Analysis Research and Therapy, 1200 Vienna, Austria
Thomas Nau, Andreas Teuschl, The Austrian Cluster for Tissue Regeneration, 1200 Vienna, Austria
Andreas Teuschl, Department of Biochemical Engineering, University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien, 1200 Vienna, Austria
Author contributions: Nau T contributed to the conception and drafting of the article and final approval; Teuschl A contributed to the drafting of the article and final approval.
Supported by The City of Vienna (MA 27 - Project 12-06); the Austrian´s Working Compensation Board (AUVA); the Austrian Research Agency FFG, Bridge-Project, No. #815471; and the New Tissue Project, No. FFG #818412.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Thomas Nau, MD, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Experimental and Clinical Traumatology/AUVA Research Center, Donaueschingenstraße 13, 1200 Vienna, Austria. office@traumanau.com
Telephone: +43-1-33110462 Fax: +43-1-33110460
Received: April 14, 2014 Peer-review started: April 15, 2014 First decision: June 18, 2014 Revised: June 19, 2014 Accepted: July 25, 2014 Article in press: July 29, 2014 Published online: January 18, 2015
Abstract
Recent advancements in the field of musculoskeletal tissue engineering have raised an increasing interest in the regeneration of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). It is the aim of this article to review the current research efforts and highlight promising tissue engineering strategies. The four main components of tissue engineering also apply in several ACL regeneration research efforts. Scaffolds from biological materials, biodegradable polymers and composite materials are used. The main cell sources are mesenchymal stem cells and ACL fibroblasts. In addition, growth factors and mechanical stimuli are applied. So far, the regenerated ACL constructs have been tested in a few animal studies and the results are encouraging. The different strategies, from in vitro ACL regeneration in bioreactor systems to bio-enhanced repair and regeneration, are under constant development. We expect considerable progress in the near future that will result in a realistic option for ACL surgery soon.
Core tip: This article reviews the current research strategies in anterior cruciate ligament tissue engineering and highlights the most promising strategies in this field.
