Repair of cartilage defects in osteoarthritis rats with induced pluripotent stem cell derived chondrocytes.
The incapacity of articular cartilage (AC) for self-repair after damage ultimately leads to the development of osteoarthritis. Stem cell-based therapy has been proposed for the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are becoming a promising stem cell source.



Three steps were developed to differentiate human iPSCs into chondrocytes which were transplanted into rat OA models induced by monosodium iodoacetate (MIA). After 6 days embryonic body (EB) formation and 2 weeks differentiation, the gene and protein expression of Col2A1, GAG and Sox9 has significantly increased compare to undifferentiated hiPSCs. After 15 weeks transplantation, no immune responses were observed, micro-CT showed gradual engraftment and the improvement of subchondrol plate integrity, and histological examinations demonstrated articular cartilage matrix production.



hiPSC could be an efficient and clinically translatable approach for cartilage tissue regeneration in OA cartilages.
Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Anti-ageing and Regenerative Medicine, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China. yanxiazhu@szu.edu.cn.
Yanxia
Y
Zhu
Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Anti-ageing and Regenerative Medicine, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.
Xiaomin
X
Wu
Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Anti-ageing and Regenerative Medicine, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.
Yuhong
Y
Liang
Department of Spinal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.
Hongsheng
H
Gu
State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Dalian R&D Center for Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, China.
Kedong
K
Song
Department of Spinal Surgery, Orthopaedic Research Institute, Huangpu Division, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, China.
Xuenong
X
Zou
Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Anti-ageing and Regenerative Medicine, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China. gqzhou@szu.edu.cn.
Guangqian
G
Zhou
D000818:Animals; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000276:immunology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000637:transplantation*; D020219:Chondrogenesis / Q000276:immunology; D057026:Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D016896:Treatment Outcome
Chondrocyte; Differentiation; Osteoarthritis; Transplantation; iPSC