Pathology-guided design of injectable hydrogels for precision therapy and cartilage regeneration in osteoarthritis

TL;DR

This paper reviews how injectable hydrogels can be designed to precisely treat osteoarthritis by responding to joint microenvironment signals and delivering therapies for cartilage regeneration.

Contribution

The paper introduces a systematic review of precision hydrogel design strategies tailored to osteoarthritis pathology for on-demand therapeutic delivery.

Findings

Injectable hydrogels can dynamically respond to OA microenvironment signals for targeted drug, cell, and gene delivery.

Current pharmacological and surgical methods for OA have significant limitations in structural and functional recovery.

Smart hydrogels offer multifunctional platforms for cartilage regeneration through mechanical design and inflammation regulation.

Abstract

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a highly prevalent degenerative joint disease whose complex pathological microenvironment and limited cartilage self-repair capacity have resulted in the absence of therapeutic approaches capable of simultaneously achieving structural reconstruction and functional recovery. Current clinical strategies face significant limitations, as conventional pharmacological treatments can only alleviate symptoms with accompanying systemic side effects, while surgical interventions often encounter challenges such as inadequate mechanical properties of repaired tissues and long-term degeneration. The precise functionalization of injectable hydrogels represents a key strategy for cartilage regeneration and the core challenge lies in integrating multiple material properties to design on-demand delivery platforms that can dynamically respond to complex pathological microenvironments in vivo. This review systematically elaborates on precision customization strategies for injectable hydrogels based on OA pathological mechanisms, focusing on how hydrogel design responds to pathological signals in the joint microenvironment to achieve on-demand and precise regulation of therapeutic agents including drugs, cells and genes. Beginning with cartilage structure and injury mechanisms, this article analyzes the limitations of existing pharmacological and surgical repair methods, then, elaborate on the multifunctional platform role of hydrogels in cartilage tissue engineering, including recent advances in mechanical design, drug loading/release behavior, inflammation regulation, stem cell delivery and gene-activated repair. Finally, it outlines challenges and future directions for smart hydrogels in cartilage regenerative medicine, aiming to provide a theoretical framework and technical pathway for integrating materials science with clinical medicine.

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