Methods and compositions are provided for the regeneration of articular cartilage by activating skeletal stem cells with a combination of (i) mechanical and (ii) biochemical stimulus. The mechanical stimulus can be an acute local injury. The biochemical stimulus can be a combination of an effective dose of a BMP2 activating agent and a VEGF inhibitor.

Ink formulations comprising bioactive particles, methods of printing the inks into three-dimensional (3D) structures, and methods of making the inks are provided. Also provided are objects, such as tissue growth scaffolds and artificial bone, made from the inks, methods of forming the objects using 3D printing techniques, and method for growing tissue on the tissue growth scaffolds. The inks comprise a plurality of bioactive ceramic particles, a biocompatible polymer binder, optionally at least one bioactive factor, and a solvent.

Disclosed is the preparation of injectable collagen suspensions, to the method for preparing the suspensions, and to the uses thereof, particularly for forming dense collagen matrices.

The present invention provides compounds of formula I:

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or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, tautomer, or stereoisomer thereof, wherein the variables are as defined herein. The present invention further provides pharmaceutical compositions comprising such compounds, and methods of using such compounds for treatment of joint damage or joint injury in a mammal, and for inducing differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into chondrocytes.

A method for preparing a sterilized scaffold for medical use, the method comprising the steps of: i) Loading collagen to a fiber mesh containing fibers of polylactide polymer or copolymer (commonly denoted PLA) to obtain a PLA-collagen scaffold, ii) Drying the PLA-collagen scaffold obtained from step i), iii) Sterilizing the PLA-collagen scaffold obtained from the drying step ii) to obtain the sterilized scaffold.

The sterilized scaffold obtained has improved biomechanical properties compared with an unsterilized scaffold.

Cellulose-reinforced hydrogels may include a cellulose nanofiber network and an interstitial hydrogel portion within interstitial regions of the cellulose nanofiber network, the interstitial hydrogel portion comprising polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), wherein the hydrogel component has a crystallinity of 20% or greater.

A fibrous polymeric scaffold for soft tissue engineering comprises electrospun fibers including a polymeric blend and graphite particles embedded therein.

A medical implant for cartilage and/or bone repair at an articulating surface of a joint is provided. The implant includes a contoured implant body and at least one extending post. The implant body has an articulating surface configured to face the articulating part of the joint and a bone contact surface configured to face the bone structure of a joint, where the articulating and bone contact surfaces face mutually opposite directions and the bone contact surface is provided with the extending post. A cartilage contact surface connects the articulating and the bone contact surfaces and is configured to contact the cartilage surrounding the implant body in a joint. The articulating surface has a layer that is formed of titanium nitride (TiN) as the wear-resistant material. The cartilage contact surface has a coating that is formed of a material having chondrointegration properties.

A method for in vitro production of cartilage tissue, which includes the steps of: i) culturing chondrocytes on an adherent culture system in a dedifferentiation culture medium that activates Wnt signaling pathway to obtain chondrocytes with a morphology of fibroblastic-like cells; ii) culturing the fibroblastic-like chondrocytes on an adherent culture system in a redifferentiation culture medium that inactivates Wnt signaling pathway to obtain chondrocytes with full capacity to resynthesize hyaline matrix; and iii) culturing the chondrocytes obtained in step ii) in a three-dimensional culture system in induction/maturation culture medium that maintain the inactivation of Wnt signaling pathway. Also, the therapeutic uses and screening methods using the cartilage tissue thus produced.

Described are compositions and methods for cartilage replacement. Also described are collagen scaffolds comprising the composition described herein.