Enhanced chondrogenic differentiation of iPS cell-derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells via neural crest cell induction for hyaline cartilage repair

Zujur D, Al-Akashi Z, Nakamura A, Zhao C, Takahashi K, Aritomi S, Theoputra W, Kamiya D, Nakayama K and Ikeya M

Front. Cell Dev. Biol. 11:1140717. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2023.1140717

Background

Repairing damaged cartilage has been a challenging task due to the lack of sufficient blood supply in cartilage tissue, which is necessary for the proliferation and differentiation of cells.

Research Achievements

In this study, the author's group successfully developed a culture method using human iPSC-derived mesenchymal stem cells (iMSCs) and achieved xeno-free generation of cartilage tissue. With this method, the group was able to generate cartilage spheroids with controlled size through the induction of neural crest cells. Additionally, it was demonstrated that the combination of growth factors and small molecule inducer could enhance chondrogenic potential.
These research findings provide innovative cellular resources for stem cell-based cartilage repair and suggest the potential application in the biofabrication of cartilage tissue.

Use of PrimeSurface™ in this study

PrimeSurface™ 96U plates were used for the formation of cartilage spheroids.

Seeding density	:	2x10⁴ cells/well
Culture medium	:	hMSC Chondrogenic Basal Medium (PT-3925) and hMSC Chondrogenic SingleQuots™ Kit Supplement (PT-4121)
Medium exchange	:	Every 3-4 days

Fig. 3

A:mRNA expression of chondrogenic markers in T1-iMSCs with different chondrogenic differentiation conditions and representative images of Alcian blue staining.
B, C, D: differentiation strategies for the induction of T1-iMSC chondrogenic spheroids.
E, F: mRNA expression levels of chondrogenic markers in T1-iMSCs with different chondrogenic differentiation strategies and immunostaining of chondrogenic spheroids.
G: Representative images of the fusion process of two chondrogenic spheroids.

* For details, please refer to the paper