Successful Low-Cost Scaffold-Free Cartilage Tissue Engineering Using Human Cartilage Progenitor Cell Spheroids Formed by Micromolded Nonadhesive Hydrogel

<div>The CPC spheroids formed in the micromolded nonadhesive hydrogel with 800 <i>μ</i>m diameter in each circular recesses showed an increase in TGF-<i>β</i>1, TGF-<i>β</i>2, and TGF-<i>β</i>3 synthesis comparing to CPCs monolayer. The CPC spheroids maintained for 2 days (spheroid compaction) in cell spheroid culture showed the highest synthesis of TGF-<i>β</i>1 (a), TGF-<i>β</i>2 (b), and TGF-<i>β</i>3 (c) comparing to the CPC spheroids maintained for 21 days (spontaneous chondrogenesis) and to monolayer (<span class="nowrap"><svg height="13.532pt" id="M15" style="vertical-align:-3.4295pt" version="1.1" viewbox="-0.0498162 -10.1025 56.1861 13.532" width="56.1861pt" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g transform="matrix(.0091,0,0,-0.0091,0,-5.741)"><path d="M486 158C486 177 478 202 466 220C413 228 386 236 336 262C386 288 413 297 466 304C478 323 486 347 485 366C470 376 444 381 422 380C389 338 368 319 321 288C323 345 329 372 349 422C339 442 322 461 305 470C289 461 271 442 262 422C281 372 287 345 290 288C243 319 222 338 189 380C167 381 142 376 125 366C125 347 133 322 145 304C198 296 225 288 275 262C225 236 198 227 145 220C133 201 125 177 126 158C141 148 167 143 189 144C222 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TGF-beta: transforming growth factor-beta.</div>

Stem Cells International

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Figure 4

Figure 4: Successful Low-Cost Scaffold-Free Cartilage Tissue Engineering Using Human Cartilage Progenitor Cell Spheroids Formed by Micromolded Nonadhesive Hydrogel 

Figure 4 | Successful Low-Cost Scaffold-Free Cartilage Tissue Engineering Using Human Cartilage Progenitor Cell Spheroids Formed by Micromolded Nonadhesive Hydrogel 