Cartilage plays an essential role in human health. Cartilages are needed for the growth of the skeleton since the growth of most bones occurs through a cartilage intermediate. In the adult organism, cartilages are also present at the joint surface of bones and frequently undergo damage resulting in severe joint dysfunction and pain. Much progress has recently been made in a number of areas that have considerably enhanced our understanding of cartilage biology. The new data have come from several directions. These include numerous studies on the developmental biology of skeletogenesis that have revealed the roles of a number of secreted polypeptides and transcription factors in various aspects of chondrogenesis as well as their roles in the maintenance of cartilages. Also a number of biochemical, molecular biological and genetic studies have led to a better understanding of the functions of many components of the extracellular matrix of cartilages and their interactions with each other. Much more is also understood about the processes that control the discrete steps in chondrocyte differentiation and the role of the various cell types in the growth plate of endochondral bones. Progress has been made in the field of mature articular cartilage; its remodeling and regulation as well as reactivity to altered mechanical environments. Substantial progress has also been made in understanding human diseases that affect cartilage function such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and a growing number of genetic diseases of joints and cartilages. Novel biological approaches to therapies for cartilage diseases are beginning to be investigated.

This is a very active field with investigators working in all parts of the world including many countries in Europe (Germany, England, France, Belgium, Italy, Sweden, Finland, etc.), Japan, Australia, China, Canada, and the US. The investigators in the field, which we contacted, felt they would greatly benefit from the interdisciplinary interactions provided by a Gordon Conference on the Biology of Cartilages. The conference will also include persons in pharmaceutical companies actively engaged in cartilage research as well as biotechnology companies involved in novel approaches to cartilage repair.