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Limb derived cells as a paradigm for engineering self‐assembling skeletal tissues
Author(s) -
Fernando Warnakulasuriya A.,
Papantoniou Ioannis,
Mendes Luis F.,
Hall Gabriella Nilsson,
Bosmans Kathleen,
Tam Wai L.,
Teixeira Liliana M.,
Moos Malcolm,
Geris Liesbet,
Luyten Frank P.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.835
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1932-7005
pISSN - 1932-6254
DOI - 10.1002/term.2498
Subject(s) - tissue engineering , organogenesis , microbiology and biotechnology , regenerative medicine , embryonic stem cell , process (computing) , biology , robustness (evolution) , stem cell , anatomy , biomedical engineering , computer science , engineering , genetics , gene , operating system
Mimicking developmental events has been proposed as a strategy to engineer tissue constructs for regenerative medicine. However, this approach has not yet been investigated for skeletal tissues. Here, it is demonstrated that ectopic implantation of day‐14.5 mouse embryonic long bone anlagen, dissociated into single cells and randomly incorporated in a bioengineered construct, gives rise to epiphyseal growth plate‐like structures, bone and marrow, which share many morphological and molecular similarities to epiphyseal units that form after transplanting intact long bone anlage, demonstrating substantial robustness and autonomy of complex tissue self‐assembly and the overall organogenesis process. In vitro studies confirm the self‐aggregation and patterning capacity of anlage cells and demonstrate that the model can be used to evaluate the effects of large and small molecules on biological behaviour. These results reveal the preservation of self‐organizing and self‐patterning capacity of anlage cells even when disconnected from their developmental niche and subjected to system perturbations such as cellular dissociation. These inherent features make long bone anlage cells attractive as a model system for tissue engineering technologies aimed at creating constructs that have the potential to self‐assemble and self‐pattern complex architectural structures.