“…This study, for the first time, focused on creating a tissueengineered SM of the TMJ with an original method, because we hold that an SM with abnormal function will cause continuous damage to the cartilage and disc rather than nourish them. For example, internal derangement of the TMJ is often accompanied by synovitis, during which cytokines such as vascular endothelial growth factor [Sato et al, 2005;Kumagai et al, 2010], interleukins [Suzuki et al, 1999;Sato et al, 2003;Vernal et al, 2008], tumor necrosis factor-α [Kaneyama et al, 2002;Vernal et al, 2008;Kim et al, 2012] and matrix metalloproteinases [Kubota et al, 1997;Tanaka et al, 2001] are highly expressed in synovial fluid or the SM. These cytokines are responsible for promoting vascular formation, causing pain and degrading the cartilage [Bonnet and Walsh, 2005], resulting in a poor clinical outcome.…”