Gene expression profiling of human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived chondrospheroids
Differentiated chondrocytes from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) have the potential to permanently restore damaged cartilage in arthritic joints, yet chondrocyte hypertrophy is a major barrier for translational therapy.  We developed a serum-free hiPSC differentiation strategy that inhibited, then activated BMP signaling in a purified SOX9+ subpopulation that naturally detaches from monolayer cultures (termed “chondrospheroids”).  Transcriptional profiles of chondrospheroids at days 14, 28, and 42 were measured using bulk RNA sequencing, with hiPSC and sclerotome cells included as controls. Overall design: Three chondrospheroid replicates derived from the NCRM NL5 hiPSC line at three specific timepoints of differentiation (days 14, 28, and 42) were processed for bulk RNA sequencing.  Sclerotome cells (day 6) and hiPSCs (day 0) were included as controls. contributor: NIDCD/NIDCR Genomics and Computational Biology Core