“Regeneration of Bone and Cartilage: A Tale of Two Tissues”

Among the many tissues in the human body bone has the highest potential for regeneration. This was first recognized by Hippocrates in ancient Greece over 24 centuries ago. Hippocrates was also the first physician to propose the concept that native endogenous natural signals are superior and safe therapeutic agents for clinical applications. Our laboratory was the first to identify, isolate and purify the signals for bone regeneration the Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMPs). The aim of this lecture is to describe the BMP story and illustrate three vignettes of BMP applications in the clinic. Compared to bone an adjacent tissue articular cartilage is feeble in its regenerative potential. Articular cartilage is recalcitrant to repair. In part this may be due to relatively avascular nature of the tissue, potential presence of growth inhibitors and paucity of endogenous stem cells in articular cartilage. This lack of regeneration is an unmet need in orthopaedic surgery and therefore presents a challenge and an opportunity. We will describe the current approaches including signals, stem cells and scaffolds for tissue engineering of articular cartilage. Our current research and future plans include engineering lubrication in tissue engineered articular cartilage with an eye toward the design and manufacture of a total knee joint. A. Hari Reddi is a member of the Biomedical Engineering Graduate Group and teaches Tissue Engineering to students in the BMEGG.

When: Thursday 4/17/12 4:10 PM

Where: 1005 GBSF