摘要：The repair of osteochondral defects is one of the major clinical challenges in ***-established osteochondral tissue engineering methods have shown promising results for the early treatment of small ***,less success has been achieved for the regeneration of large defects,which is mainly due to the mechanical environment of the joint and the heterogeneous nature of the *** this study,we developed a multi-layered osteochondral scaffold to match the heterogeneous nature of osteochondral tissue by harnessing additive manufacturing technologies and combining the established art laser sintering and material extrusion *** developed scaffold is based on a titanium and polylactic acid matrix-reinforced collagen“sandwich”composite *** microstructure and mechanical properties of the scaffold were examined,and its safety and efficacy in the repair of large osteochondral defects were tested in an ovine condyle *** 12-week in vivo evaluation period revealed extensive and significantly higher bone in-growth in the multi-layered scaffold compared with the collagen–HAp scaffold,and the achieved stable mechanical fixation provided strong support to the healing of the overlying cartilage,as demonstrated by hyaline-like cartilage *** histological examination showed that the regenerated cartilage in the multi-layer scaffold group was superior to that formed in the control *** genes such as aggrecan and collagen-II were upregulated in the scaffold and were higher than those in the control *** findings showed the safety and efficacy of the cell-free“translation-ready”osteochondral scaffold,which has the potential to be used in a one-step surgical procedure for the treatment of large osteochondral defects.

摘要：Introduction Osteoarthritis （OA） is a degenerative joint disease, characterized by cartilage loss and changes in bone at the interface of a joint resulting in pain, stiffness and reduced mobility. OA is one of the most prevalent chronic conditions as identified in Bone and Joint Decade. According to the World Health Organization, 40% of people over the age of 70 have OA. This joint disease affects around 0.4 billion people with patients in Europe accounting for up to 30%. The figure is set to increase with the ageing problem.