| Abstract |
Endochondral ossification is the process of bone formation derived from growing cartilage during the development of the skeletal system. In previous studies, we have attempted to evoke the osteocyte differentiation of osteoblast precursor cells under a three-dimensional (3D) culture model. In order to recapitulate the endochondral ossification, the present study utilized the self-organized scaffold-free spheroid model reconstructed by pre-chondrocyte cells. Within 2-day cultivation in the absence of the chemically induced chondrogenesis supplements, the chondrocyte marker was greatly expressed in the inner region of the spheroid, whereas the hypertrophic chondrocyte marker was strongly detected in the surface region of the spheroid. Notably, we found out that the gene expression levels of osteocyte markers were also greatly up-regulated compared to the conventional 2D monolayer. Moreover, there was a hypertrophied morphologic change in the pre-chondrocyte spheroid from 4-day to 28-day cultivation. In this study, we highlighted the potentials of the 3D culture method to acquire the hypertrophic chondrocyte differentiation of the pre-chondrocyte cells to recapitulate the early stage of the endochondral ossification. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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