Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Adipose Stromal Cell Spheroids for Cartilage Repair: A Promising Tool for Unveiling the Critical Maturation Point

Azzurra Sargenti
ORCID logo ,
Simone Pasqua
,
Marco Leu
,
Laura Dionisi
,
Giuseppe Filardo
,
Brunella Grigolo
ORCID logo ,
Daniele Gazzola
,
Spartaco Santi
*,† ORCID logo ,
Carola Cavallo
*,† ORCID logo
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Version 1 : Received: 26 September 2023 / Approved: 27 September 2023 / Online: 27 September 2023 (05:23:08 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Sargenti, A.; Pasqua, S.; Leu, M.; Dionisi, L.; Filardo, G.; Grigolo, B.; Gazzola, D.; Santi, S.; Cavallo, C. Adipose Stromal Cell Spheroids for Cartilage Repair: A Promising Tool for Unveiling the Critical Maturation Point. Bioengineering 2023, 10, 1182. Sargenti, A.; Pasqua, S.; Leu, M.; Dionisi, L.; Filardo, G.; Grigolo, B.; Gazzola, D.; Santi, S.; Cavallo, C. Adipose Stromal Cell Spheroids for Cartilage Repair: A Promising Tool for Unveiling the Critical Maturation Point. Bioengineering 2023, 10, 1182.

Abstract

Articular cartilage lacks intrinsic regenerative capabilities, and the current treatments fail to regenerate damaged tissue and lead only to temporary pain relief. These limitations have prompted the development of tissue engineering approaches, including 3D culture systems. Thanks to their regenerative properties and capacity to recapitulate embryonic processes, spheroids obtained from mesenchymal stromal cells are increasingly studied as building blocks to obtain functional tissues. The aim of this study was to investigate the capacity of adipose stromal cells to assemble in spheroids and differentiate toward chondrogenic lineage from the perspective of cartilage repair. Spheroids were generated by two different methods (3D chips vs Ultra-Low Attachment plates), differentiated toward chondrogenic lineage, and their properties were investigated by: molecular biology analyses, biophysical measurement of mass density, weight, and size of spheroids, and confocal imaging. Overall, spheroids showed the ability to differentiate by expressing specific cartilaginous markers that correlate with their mass density, defining a critical point at which they start to mature. Considering the spheroid generation method, this pilot study suggested that spheroids obtained with chips are a promising tool for the generation of cartilage organoids that could be used for preclinical/clinical approaches, including the realization of personalized therapy.

Keywords

adipose stromal cells; spheroids; chondrogenesis; mass density; deep imaging

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Cell and Developmental Biology

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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