Project outcomes

Scientific publications

Grammens, J., Van Haver, A., Lumban-Gaol, I., Danckaers, F., Verdonk, P. & Sijbers, J.

Automated Landmark Annotation for Morphometric Analysis of Distal Femur and Proximal Tibia.

Journal of Imaging 10, 90 (2024). doi: 10.3390/jimaging10040090. Archive: PMC

Núñez Bernal, P.

Crafting Tissue Complexity: Pioneering Layerwise and Volumetric Biofabrication Strategies for Advanced In Vitro Models.

(Utrecht University, 2024). Archive: UU repository

Grammens, J., Van Haver, A., Danckaers, F., Vuylsteke, K., Sijbers, J., Mahluf, L., Angele, P., Kon, E., Verdonk, P. & MEFISTO WP1 Group, .

Three‐dimensional bone morphology is a risk factor for medial postmeniscectomy syndrome: A retrospective cohort study.

Journal of Experimental Orthopaedics 11, e12090 (2024). doi: 10.1002/jeo2.12090. Archive: PMC

Pensado-López, A., Ummarino, A., Khan, S., Guildford, A., Allan, I. U., Santin, M., Chevallier, N., Varaillon, E., Kon, E., Allavena, P. & Torres Andón, F.

Synthetic peptides of IL-1Ra and HSP70 have anti-inflammatory activity on human primary monocytes and macrophages: Potential treatments for inflammatory diseases.

Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine 55, 102719 (2024). doi: 10.1016/j.nano.2023.102719. Archive: University of Brighton

Ummarino, A., Pensado‐López, A., Migliore, R., Alcaide‐Ruggiero, L., Calà, N., Caputo, M., Gambaro, F. M., Anfray, C., Ronzoni, F. L., Kon, E., Allavena, P. & Torres Andón, F.

An in vitro model for osteoarthritis using long‐cultured inflammatory human macrophages repeatedly stimulated with TLR agonists.

European Journal of Immunology 2350507 (2023). doi: 10.1002/eji.202350507. Archive: Zenodo

Abbadessa, A., Nuñez Bernal, P., Buttitta, G., Ronca, A., D’Amora, U., Zihlmann, C., Stiefel, N., Ambrosio, L., Malda, J., Levato, R., Crecente-Campo, J. & Alonso, M. J.

Biofunctionalization of 3D printed collagen with bevacizumab-loaded microparticles targeting pathological angiogenesis.

Journal of Controlled Release 360, 747–758 (2023). doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2023.07.017. Archive: Zenodo

Conte, P., Anzillotti, G., Di Matteo, B., Gallese, A., Vitale, U., Marcacci, M. & Kon, E.

Orthobiologic injections for treating degenerative meniscus lesions: a matter of facts? Ten years of clinical experience in a systematic review.

Journal of Cartilage & Joint Preservation 100104 (2023). doi: 10.1016/j.jcjp.2023.100104. Archive: Zenodo

Ronca, A., D’Amora, U., Capuana, E., Zihlmann, C., Stiefel, N., Pattappa, G., Schewior, R., Docheva, D., Angele, P. & Ambrosio, L.

Development of a highly concentrated collagen ink for the creation of a 3D printed meniscus.

Heliyon 9, e23107 (2023). doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23107. Archive: PMC

Terpstra, M. L., Li, J., Mensinga, A., de Ruijter, M., van Rijen, M. H. P., Androulidakis, C., Galiotis, C., Papantoniou, I., Matsusaki, M., Malda, J. & Levato, R.

Bioink with cartilage-derived extracellular matrix microfibers enables spatial control of vascular capillary formation in bioprinted constructs.

Biofabrication 14, 034104 (2022). doi: 10.1088/1758-5090/ac6282. Archive: Zenodo

10.

Pattappa, G., Reischl, F., Jahns, J., Schewior, R., Lang, S., Zellner, J., Johnstone, B., Docheva, D. & Angele, P.

Fibronectin Adherent Cell Populations Derived From Avascular and Vascular Regions of the Meniscus Have Enhanced Clonogenicity and Differentiation Potential Under Physioxia.

Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology 9, 789621 (2022). doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.789621. Archive: PMC

11.

Rikkers, M., Korpershoek, J. V., Levato, R., Malda, J. & Vonk, L. A.

The clinical potential of articular cartilage-derived progenitor cells: a systematic review.

npj Regenerative Medicine 7, 2 (2022). doi: 10.1038/s41536-021-00203-6. Archive: PMC

12.

Rinonapoli, G., Gregori, P., Di Matteo, B., Impieri, L., Ceccarini, P., Manfreda, F., Campofreda, G. & Caraffa, A.

Stem cells application in meniscal tears: a systematic review of pre-clinical and clinical evidence.

European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences 25, 7754–7764 (2021). doi: 10.26355/eurrev_202112_27622

13.

Korpershoek, J. V., Ruijter, M. de, Terhaard, B. F., Hagmeijer, M. H., Saris, D. B., Castilho, M., Malda, J. & Vonk, L. A.

Potential of Melt Electrowritten Scaffolds Seeded with Meniscus Cells and Mesenchymal Stromal Cells.

International Journal of Molecular Sciences 22, 11200 (2021). doi: 10.3390/ijms222011200. Archive: PMC

14.

Zhang, J., Geiger, Y., Sotier, F., Djordjevic, S., Docheva, D., Sudhop, S., Clausen-Schaumann, H. & Huber, H. P.

Extending Single Cell Bioprinting from Femtosecond to Picosecond Laser Pulse Durations.

Micromachines 12, 1172 (2021). doi: 10.3390/mi12101172. Archive: PMC

15.

Gambaro, F. M., Ummarino, A., Torres Andón, F., Ronzoni, F., Di Matteo, B. & Kon, E.

Drug Delivery Systems for the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review of In Vivo Studies.

International Journal of Molecular Sciences 22, 9137 (2021). doi: 10.3390/ijms22179137. Archive: PMC

16.

Korpershoek, J. V., Rikkers, M., de Windt, T. S., Tryfonidou, M. A., Saris, D. B. F. & Vonk, L. A.

Selection of Highly Proliferative and Multipotent Meniscus Progenitors through Differential Adhesion to Fibronectin: A Novel Approach in Meniscus Tissue Engineering.

International Journal of Molecular Sciences 22, 8614 (2021). doi: 10.3390/ijms22168614. Archive: PMC

17.

Angele, P., Docheva, D., Pattappa, G. & Zellner, J.

Cell-based treatment options facilitate regeneration of cartilage, ligaments and meniscus in demanding conditions of the knee by a whole joint approach.

Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy (2021). doi: 10.1007/s00167-021-06497-9. Archive: PMC

18.

Castilho, M., Levato, R., Bernal, P. N., de Ruijter, M., Sheng, C. Y., van Duijn, J., Piluso, S., Ito, K. & Malda, J.

Hydrogel-Based Bioinks for Cell Electrowriting of Well-Organized Living Structures with Micrometer-Scale Resolution.

Biomacromolecules acs.biomac.0c01577 (2021). doi: 10.1021/acs.biomac.0c01577. Archive: PMC

19.

Rikkers, M., Korpershoek, J., Levato, R., Malda, J. & Vonk, L.

Progenitor Cells in Healthy and Osteoarthritic Human Cartilage Have Extensive Culture Expansion Capacity while Retaining Chondrogenic Properties.

CARTILAGE 13, 129S-142S (2021). doi: 10.1177/19476035211059600. Archive: PMC

20.

Veronesi, F., Di Matteo, B., Vitale, N., Filardo, G., Visani, A., Kon, E. & Fini, M.

Biosynthetic scaffolds for partial meniscal loss: A systematic review from animal models to clinical practice.

Bioactive Materials 6, 3782–3800 (2021). doi: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2021.03.033. Archive: PMC

21.

Zhang, J., Byers, P., Erben, A., Frank, C., Schulte‐Spechtel, L., Heymann, M., Docheva, D., Huber, H. P., Sudhop, S. & Clausen‐Schaumann, H.

Single Cell Bioprinting with Ultrashort Laser Pulses.

Advanced Functional Materials 31, 2100066 (2021). doi: 10.1002/adfm.202100066. Archive: PMC

22.

Abbadessa, A., Crecente-Campo, J. & Alonso, M. J.

Engineering Anisotropic Meniscus: Zonal Functionality and Spatiotemporal Drug Delivery.

Tissue Engineering Part B: Reviews (2020). doi: 10.1089/ten.teb.2020.0096. Archive: MINERVA

23.

Grammens, J., Van Haver, A., Danckaers, F., Booth, B., Sijbers, J. & Verdonk, P.

Small medial femoral condyle morphotype is associated with medial compartment degeneration and distinct morphological characteristics: a comparative pilot study.

Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy (2020). doi: 10.1007/s00167-020-06218-8. Archive: PMC

24.

Pattappa, G., Krueckel, J., Schewior, R., Franke, D., Mench, A., Koch, M., Weber, J., Lang, S., Pfeifer, C. G., Johnstone, B., Docheva, D., Alt, V., Angele, P. & Zellner, J.

Physioxia Expanded Bone Marrow Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Have Improved Cartilage Repair in an Early Osteoarthritic Focal Defect Model.

Biology 9, 230 (2020). doi: 10.3390/biology9080230. Archive: PMC

25.

Ummarino, A., Gambaro, F. M., Kon, E. & Torres Andón, F.

Therapeutic Manipulation of Macrophages Using Nanotechnological Approaches for the Treatment of Osteoarthritis.

Nanomaterials 10, 1562 (2020). doi: 10.3390/nano10081562. Archive: PMC

26.

Giuffrida, A., Di Bari, A., Falzone, E., Iacono, F., Kon, E., Marcacci, M., Gatti, R. & Di Matteo, B.

Conservative vs. surgical approach for degenerative meniscal injuries: a systematic review of clinical evidence.

European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences 24, 2874–2885 (2020). doi: 10.26355/eurrev_202003_20651

27.

Levato, R., Jungst, T., Scheuring, R. G., Blunk, T., Groll, J. & Malda, J.

From Shape to Function: The Next Step in Bioprinting.

Advanced Materials 32, 1906423 (2020). doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201906423. Archive: PMC

28.

Lim, K. S., Abinzano, F., Bernal, P. N., Albillos Sanchez, A., Atienza‐Roca, P., Otto, I. A., Peiffer, Q. C., Matsusaki, M., Woodfield, T. B. F., Malda, J. & Levato, R.

One‐Step Photoactivation of a Dual‐Functionalized Bioink as Cell Carrier and Cartilage‐Binding Glue for Chondral Regeneration.

Advanced Healthcare Materials 9, 1901792 (2020). doi: 10.1002/adhm.201901792. Archive: PMC

29.

Qiu, B., Bessler, N., Figler, K., Buchholz, M.-B., Rios, A. C., Malda, J., Levato, R. & Caiazzo, M.

Bioprinting Neural Systems to Model Central Nervous System Diseases.

Advanced Functional Materials 30, 1910250 (2020). doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201910250. Archive: PMC

30.

Bernal, P. N., Delrot, P., Loterie, D., Li, Y., Malda, J., Moser, C. & Levato, R.

Volumetric Bioprinting of Complex Living-Tissue Constructs within Seconds.

Advanced Materials 31, 1904209 (2019). doi: 10.1002/adma.201904209. Archive: Infoscience

Meniscus discovery series

The 'Meniscus Discovery Series' is a series of documentaries on the meniscus. It contains interviews, animations, patient stories etc. The series is aimed to address young orthopedic surgeons & residents. It has been created with the support of the MEFISTO project.

Meniscus Discovery Series Season 1 Episode 1

Snippets of episode 1 are also available on the discovery series YouTube Channel.

Meniscus Discovery Series Season 1 Episode 2

Final publishable summary

A final summary of the project findings.

Project video

Listen to MEFISTO researchers Elizaveta Kon, Girish Pattappa, Peter Verdonk, Eran Ganz and coordinator Evelyne Hasler, introduce the project and its main aspects and features, with this three-minute introductory video.

Video contributions

Discover the different videos (interviews, presentations, science popularisation contest and more) produced around the MEFISTO project.

Elizaveta Kon (Humanitas University, Milan) and Jari Dahmen (Amsterdam UMC) talk about The MEFISTO Project and treating damage to the meniscus in the future in this 'ONtheGo' Podcast from the ON Foundation.

June 2023

Interview with Dr. Peter Angele by Dr. Philip Roessler, organized by the ON Foundation.

April 2020

Interview with Dr. Peter Angele by Dr. Philip Roessler, organized by the ON Foundation.

April 2020

Dr. Peter Angele presenting the future of meniscus regeneration at the ONstage event of the ON Foundation.

February 2020

Dr. Elizaveta Kon presenting the long way to Horizon 2020 at the ONstage event of the ON Foundation.

February 2020

Dr. Elizaveta Kon talks with the ON foundation about MEFISTO, at the occasion of the project Kick-off meeting, in Baden-Baden.

June 2019

This video was made by Francesco Gambaro, in the context of "Communicating Science" course of the Virgilio Program at Humanitas University, with the aim to present the MEFISTO project to a general public audience, winning the first prize for the best video.

June 2019

Project digital flyer

Our project digital flyer is a concise presentation of our overall structure and goals. It is printer-friendly and can be easily read on a mobile device.