BMC Biotechnol. 2016 Nov 9;16(1):78.

Repair of cartilage defects in osteoarthritis rats with induced pluripotent stem cell derived chondrocytes.

Zhu Y¹, Wu X², Liang Y², Gu H³, Song K⁴, Zou X⁵, Zhou G⁶.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

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.

RESULTS:

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.

CONCLUSIONS:

hiPSC could be an efficient and clinically translatable approach for cartilage tissue regeneration in OA cartilages.