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A scaffold-free approach to cartilage tissue generation using human embryonic stem cells

A scaffold-free approach to cartilage tissue generation using human embryonic stem cells
A scaffold-free approach to cartilage tissue generation using human embryonic stem cells

Articular cartilage functions as a shock absorber and facilitates the free movement of joints. Currently, there are no therapeutic drugs that promote the healing of damaged articular cartilage. Limitations associated with the two clinically relevant cell populations, human articular chondrocytes and mesenchymal stem cells, necessitate finding an alternative cell source for cartilage repair. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) provide a readily accessible population of self-renewing, pluripotent cells with perceived immunoprivileged properties for cartilage generation. We have developed a robust method to generate 3D, scaffold-free, hyaline cartilage tissue constructs from hESCs that are composed of numerous chondrocytes in lacunae, embedded in an extracellular matrix containing Type II collagen, sulphated glycosaminoglycans and Aggrecan. The elastic (Young’s) modulus of the hESC-derived cartilage tissue constructs (0.91 ± 0.08 MPa) was comparable to full-thickness human articular cartilage (0.87 ± 0.09 MPa). Moreover, we have successfully scaled up the size of the scaffold-free, 3D hESC-derived cartilage tissue constructs to between 4.5 mm and 6 mm, thus enhancing their suitability for clinical application.
2045-2322
Griffith, Lauren
effb7a8b-c625-4c21-b390-ad3ab2677705
Arnold, Katherine
4de30756-a1b6-403c-b32c-cb6f4e4327f7
Sengers, Bram
d6b771b1-4ede-48c5-9644-fa86503941aa
Tare, Rahul
587c9db4-e409-4e7c-a02a-677547ab724a
Houghton, Franchesca D
53946041-127e-45a8-9edb-bf4b3c23005f
Griffith, Lauren
effb7a8b-c625-4c21-b390-ad3ab2677705
Arnold, Katherine
4de30756-a1b6-403c-b32c-cb6f4e4327f7
Sengers, Bram
d6b771b1-4ede-48c5-9644-fa86503941aa
Tare, Rahul
587c9db4-e409-4e7c-a02a-677547ab724a
Houghton, Franchesca D
53946041-127e-45a8-9edb-bf4b3c23005f

Griffith, Lauren, Arnold, Katherine, Sengers, Bram, Tare, Rahul and Houghton, Franchesca D (2021) A scaffold-free approach to cartilage tissue generation using human embryonic stem cells. Scientific Reports, 11 (1), [18921]. (doi:10.1038/s41598-021-97934-9).

Record type: Article

Abstract


Articular cartilage functions as a shock absorber and facilitates the free movement of joints. Currently, there are no therapeutic drugs that promote the healing of damaged articular cartilage. Limitations associated with the two clinically relevant cell populations, human articular chondrocytes and mesenchymal stem cells, necessitate finding an alternative cell source for cartilage repair. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) provide a readily accessible population of self-renewing, pluripotent cells with perceived immunoprivileged properties for cartilage generation. We have developed a robust method to generate 3D, scaffold-free, hyaline cartilage tissue constructs from hESCs that are composed of numerous chondrocytes in lacunae, embedded in an extracellular matrix containing Type II collagen, sulphated glycosaminoglycans and Aggrecan. The elastic (Young’s) modulus of the hESC-derived cartilage tissue constructs (0.91 ± 0.08 MPa) was comparable to full-thickness human articular cartilage (0.87 ± 0.09 MPa). Moreover, we have successfully scaled up the size of the scaffold-free, 3D hESC-derived cartilage tissue constructs to between 4.5 mm and 6 mm, thus enhancing their suitability for clinical application.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 20 July 2021
e-pub ahead of print date: 28 September 2021
Published date: 1 December 2021
Additional Information: © 2021. The Author(s).

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 451595
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/451595
ISSN: 2045-2322
PURE UUID: 0c41c451-868c-4361-a915-a393f8c350a7
ORCID for Bram Sengers: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-5859-6984
ORCID for Rahul Tare: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-8274-8837
ORCID for Franchesca D Houghton: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-5167-1694

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 13 Oct 2021 16:30
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:06

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Contributors

Author: Lauren Griffith
Author: Katherine Arnold
Author: Bram Sengers ORCID iD
Author: Rahul Tare ORCID iD

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