“…The chronic inflammatory microenvironment resulting from AC damage is inundated with various activated inflammatory cells and pro-inflammatory mediators, along with reactive oxygen species (ROS) [ 20 , 21 ]. During cartilage injury, overexpressed ROS not only attacks the extracellular matrix (ECM) of the AC directly but also induces lipid peroxidation and DNA cleavage, which destabilizes the microenvironment [ 22 ]. Furthermore, ROS overexpression at cartilage defect sites exacerbates inflammation, thereby creating an intense pro-inflammatory microenvironment, which may compromise downstream cellular functions and lead to impaired healing [ 23 ].…”