The condylar cartilage was adapted to hypoxic conditions in vivo. However, condylar cartilage cells exposed in normoxia in vitro affect the chondrocyte phenotype and cartilage matrix formation. This condition also resulted in great difficulty in chondrocyte research. Culturing chondrocyte should be simulated in in vivo hypoxia environment as much as possible. The hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) demonstrates an important transcription factor of adaptive response to hypoxic conditions. HIF-1α also plays an active role in maintaining homeostasis and function of chondrocytes. This review summarized current knowledge of the HIF-1α structure, signaling pathway, and mechanism of HIF-1α in the condylar cartilage repair.
髁突软骨在正常机体内处于一个低氧环境中，软骨细胞却对此表现出较好地适应能力，然而在体外细胞的研究中发现，髁突软骨细胞在传代培养中很难保持稳定性，这为髁突软骨的研究带来了较大困难。同时也考虑培养髁突软骨细胞时是否应尽可能模拟体内低氧环境。缺氧诱导因子-1α（HIF-1α）是细胞对低氧环境适应性反应的重要转录因子，对维持软骨细胞的稳态和功能具有重要意义。本文就HIF-1α的生物活性结构、相关信号通路及在髁突软骨修复中的作用作一综述。.
Keywords: condylar cartilage; hypoxia-inducible factor-1α; hypoxic; static pressure.