Molecular and functional heterogeneity of meniscal fibrochondrocytes in bioengineering avascular meniscus repair: is Rap1 signaling vital?
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Knee menisci are intra-articular fibrocartilaginous structures critical to the biomechanics of the knee joint. To relieve the symptoms of meniscal injuries, partial or total meniscectomy has been widely used despite predisposing the joint toward developing osteoarthritis, a painful and debilitating condition. Because of this major drawback, cell-based approaches are being investigated to restore the inner avascular portion of the knee meniscus with improved longevity and integrity. Current techniques for isolating meniscal fibrochondrocytes (MFCs), the optimal cell type for repair, include collagenase digestion (d), outgrowth (og), and a recently introduced digestion-after-outgrowth (dog) method. Heterogeneity regarding the transcriptomic profiles and biomechanical properties of these MFC isolation methods has recently been documented; owing to their demonstrated enhanced migratory capacity and production of microtissue models with higher expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin ( ACTA2 ) and transgelin ( TAGLN ), we propose that og-MFC populations facilitate superior wound closure. This narrative review delineates the molecular underpinnings conferring various advantages of MFC populations isolated using these three methods and suggests how such differences may be strategically leveraged in either tissue repair or tissue engineering contexts. Specifically, we identify the significance of using og-MFCs for avascular meniscus tissue repair, considering the role of Ras-associated protein 1 (Rap1) signaling and ACTA2 / TAGLN in coordinating cell migration and contractility, respectively. We discuss how the use of dog-MFCs may be optimal in tissue-engineered meniscus given its high chondrogenic capacity. Ultimately, we highlight the importance of further examination concerning the transcriptomic and functional diversity of MFCs to optimize the outcomes of cell-based avascular meniscus repair.
Fetched live from OpenAlex and de-inverted. Abstracts are not stored in this database: the inverted indexes are 8.6 GB of the frame’s 9.3 GB of text, and the host has 13 GB free.
How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".