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

关节软骨覆盖在骨骼的末端，便于关节的运动和力的传递。骨关节炎是一种关节疾病，由运动损伤或自发引起。它的特征是软骨的丧失，表现为疼痛、僵硬和活动范围的丧失，大约每6名加拿大人中就有1人在15岁以上致残。软骨受损时几乎没有修复能力。目前的治疗方法只是缓解症状，并不能阻止疾病的发展，因此最终受损的关节将需要用假肢进行关节置换。这些都是由金属和塑料制成的，最终都会失败。显然，非常需要新的生物细胞或组织疗法来修复/替代受损的软骨，使关节功能和健康完全恢复正常。

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.