A Review of the Role of Bioreactors for iPSCs-Based Tissue-Engineered Articular Cartilage

Abstract

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common degenerative joint disease without an ultimate treatment. In a search for novel approaches, tissue engineering (TE) has shown great potential to be an effective way for hyaline cartilage regeneration and repair in advanced stages of OA. Recently, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have been appointed to be essential stem cells for degenerative disease treatment because they allow a personalized medicine approach. For clinical translation, bioreactors in combination with iPSCs-engineerd cartilage could match patients needs, serve as platform for large-scale patient specific cartilage production, and be a tool for patient OA modelling and drug screening. Furthermore, to minimize in vivo experiments and improve cell differentiation and cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, TE combines existing approaches with bioreactors. Methods: This review summarizes the current understanding of bioreactors and the necessary parameters when they are intended for cartilage TE, focusing on the potential use of iPSCs. Results: Bioreactors intended for cartilage TE must resemble the joint cavity niche. However, recreating human synovial joints is not trivial because the interactions between various stimuli are not entirely understood. Conclusion: The use of mechanical and electrical stimulation to differentiate iPSCs, and maintain and test chondrocytes are key stimuli influencing hyaline cartilage homeostasis. Incorporating these stimuli to bioreactors can positively impact cartilage TE approaches and their possibility for posterior translation into the clinics.

Inter-rater reliability and test-retest reliability of the foot posture index (FPI-6) for assessing static foot posture in elderly female patients with knee osteoarthritis and its association with quadriceps muscle tone and stiffness

“…Moreover, it is the primary cause of lower limb disability among the elderly population, particularly elderly females ( Primorac et al, 2020 ). It is estimated that approximately 30.8 million adults in China and around 300 million individuals worldwide suffer from KOA, with a significantly higher prevalence among females compared to males ( Mora et al, 2018 ; Reina-Mahecha et al, 2023 ). The incidence and prevalence of KOA are escalating due to the accelerated aging process within populations.…”

Structural and Molecular Changes of Human Chondrocytes Exposed to the Rotating Wall Vessel Bioreactor

“…An interesting and widely used bioreactor type is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-developed rotating wall vessel (RWV) bioreactor [15,16] which provides culture conditions mimicking aspects of microgravity. The RWV provides a reduction in shear stress and turbulences as compared to conventional stirred bioreactors like spinnerflask devices [17]. The device is effective for culturing primary cell lines in a more in vivo like environment [18].…”