Substrate stiffness and the role of actin in regulating the dedifferentiated articular chondrocyte phenotype

关节软骨覆盖骨的末端，促进关节运动和力的传递。骨关节炎是一种由运动损伤或自发引起的关节疾病。其特征在于软骨的损失，并表现为疼痛，僵硬和运动范围的损失，使大约六分之一的15岁以上的加拿大人致残。软骨在受损时几乎没有修复能力。目前的治疗只能缓解症状，不能阻止疾病的进展，因此最终受损的关节将需要用假体进行关节置换。这些都是由金属和塑料制成的，最终会失败。显然，非常需要新的生物细胞或组织疗法来修复/替换受损的软骨，这将完全恢复关节功能和健康。

Articular cartilage covers the ends of bone facilitating joint movement and transfer of forces. Osteoarthritis is a disease of joints that results either from sports injuries or spontaneously. It is characterized by loss of the cartilage, and manifests as pain, stiffness and loss of range of motion disabling approximately 1 in 6 Canadians over the age of 15. Cartilage has little ability to repair when damaged. Current treatments alleviate symptoms only and do not stop disease progression so ultimately the damaged joint will require joint replacement with a prosthesis. These are made from metals and plastic and will ultimately fail. Clearly there is a great need for novel biological cell or tissue therapies to repair/replace the damaged cartilage that will fully restore joint function and health to normal.