Table 2.

Preclinical studies on the application of cell-loaded biological scaffolds in the repair of articular cartilage injury

Intervening measure	Joint site/implant site of cartilage injury models	Treatment outcomes	Animal model	References
A three-dimensional porous acellular scaffold derived from ECM of natural human cartilage	Trochlear groove of the femur	The cartilage repair tissue induced by this cartilage ECM scaffold is comparable to that of natural cartilage in terms of mechanical properties and biochemical composition	Rabbits	Kang et al., [86]
MSCs-loaded bilayer PLGA scaffold	Trochlear groove of the femur	MSCs incorporating into PLGA scaffold can enhance the regeneration and fusion ability of repaired cartilage and surrounding cartilage	Rabbits	Qi et al., [91]
Connective tissue growth factor-modified BMSCs-PLGA scaffold	Femoral trochlear groove	BMSCs-PLGA scaffold may be an alternative treatment for large osteochondral defects in high-load sites	Rabbits	Zhu et al., [80]
MSCs-seeded polyethylene-oxide-terephthalate/polybutylene-terephthalate (PEOT/PBT) scaffold	Medial condyle of femur	PEOT/PBT scaffold loaded with MSCs was superior to those without scaffolds in promoting hyaluronic cartilage formation, creating a repair environment for cartilage repair	Rabbits	Barron et al., [79]
A composite scaffold through gene editing to control the chondrogenesis of ADSCs by transfecting the recombinant fusion protein LAP-MMP-mTGF-β3	Subcutaneous	The scaffold can accelerate the differentiation of ADSCs into cartilage in vivo	Mice	Zheng et al., [87]
Addition of MSCs to autologous platelet-enhanced fibrin scaffold	Lateral condyle of femur	The addition of MSCs to scaffold did not promote cartilage repair but stimulated bone formation in partial cartilage defects	Horses	Goodrich et al., [82]
Allogenic chondrocytes with CS hydrogel (CS)-demineralized bone matrix (DBM) hybrid scaffold (CS/DBM)	Femoral trochlear groove	The CS/DBM scaffold loaded with allogeneic chondrocytes can successfully repair rabbit cartilage injury in a single operation	Rabbits	Man et al., [88]
A new biphasic scaffold (type I collagen/hydroxyapatite) previously loaded or not with concentrated bone marrow cells	Femoral trochlear groove	Biphasic scaffolds loaded with concentrated bone marrow can significantly promote the healing of cartilage injury	Rabbits	Hernigou et al., [92]
A bilayered poly PLGA scaffold	Femoral trochlear groove and condyles of femur	The implantation of chondrocytes in the double-layer scaffold can promote the regeneration and integration of osteochondrosis, thus achieving the repair of articular cartilage	Pigs	Lin et al., [89]
Stromal vascular fraction cells (SVFs) and ADSCs co-cultured with chondrocytes seeding on scaffolds	Femoral trochlear groove	The scaffold loaded with SVFs and chondrocytes showed more desirable outcomes for healing cartilage injury in vivo	Rabbits	Ba et al., [90]
A CS/SF scaffold loaded with C-type natriuretic peptide gene-modified BMSCs	Trochlear grooves of the distal femur	The scaffold can promote the formation of more cartilage matrix	Rats	Yang et al., [81]
Three-dimensional printed PCL-hydroxyapatite scaffold coated with UCB-MSCs	Femoral trochlear groove	PCL-hydroxyapatite scaffold loaded with UCB-MSCs promote the repair of articular cartilage	Rabbits	Zheng et al., [83]
Human umbilical cord MSCs in a gelatin honeycomb scaffold	Subcutaneous	The scaffold can promote human umbilical cord MSCs survival and chondrogenic differentiation to form hyaluronic cartilage	Mice	Chang et al., [85]
Hydrogel-hydroxyapatite-monomeric collagen type-I scaffold	Lateral femoral condyles	This scaffold have the potential to enhance osteocartilage repair under low frequency electromagnetic field treatment	Rabbits	Yan et al., [93]
Gelatin/hydroxyapatite composite scaffold loaded with human umbilical cord blood-derived MSCs (hUCB-MSCs)	Femoral trochlear groove	This scaffold loaded with hUCB-MSCs can effectively repair cartilage defects	Pigs	Huang et al., [84]
Manganese-loaded composite scaffold combined with chondrocytes	Femoral trochlear groove	This scaffold promotes type II collagen formation and cartilage repair	Rats	Wei et al., [94]

PCL: poly ε-caprolactone; MSCs: marrow mesenchymal stem cells; BMSCs: bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells; ADSCs: adipose-derived stem cells; UCB-MSCs: umbilical cord blood-derived MSCs; ECM: extracellular matrix; CS: chitosan; PLGA: polylactic acid-glycolic acid