Elucidation of tissue maturation signals in translation of tissue-engineered cartilage using single cell analysis

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K10038
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 57060:Surgical dentistry-related
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Fujihara Yuko 東京大学, 医学部附属病院, 客員研究員 (50466744)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 疋田 温彦 東京大学, 医学部附属病院, 特任教授 (60443397)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 軟骨再生医療 / マクロファージ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Current cartilage regenerative medicine utilizes the process in which chondrocytes dedifferentiate during culture but mature naturally when transplanted in a body. However, the details of this molecular mechanism are still unknown. In this study, we aim to clarify the mechanism of tissue maturation by focusing on chondrocytes and macrophages, which alter characteristics and localization during the maturation of tissue-engineered cartilage.
Mouse tissue-engineered cartilage was prepared using auricular chondrocytes and polylactic acid scaffold, which was then subcutaneously transplanted into the back of a mouse. Regenerated cartilage tissue was excised over time, cells were isolated, and their populations were analyzed. In addition, the maturation of tissue-engineered cartilage was evaluated histologically using toluidine blue staining, and the correlation with gene expression was examined.

Free Research Field

再生医療

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

軟骨再生医療は、再生医療の中でも臨床応用が進んでいる領域で、患者自身の軟骨組織から分離・増殖させた軟骨細胞を移植する自家軟骨細胞移植術が臨床応用されている。一方で、軟骨細胞が生体内で組織成熟する分子メカニズムの詳細は未だ不明であり、移植前の再生軟骨に軟骨特性や十分な力学的強度を与えることが困難である。また、再生医療において、移植した再生組織を長期的に維持していくためには、移植後の組織反応を制御していく必要もある。本研究は、移植された再生軟骨組織を構成する細胞を解析することにより、移植後の成熟過程や組織反応を解明するための一助となる研究である。