Hypoxia promotes differentiation of pure cartilage from human induced pluripotent stem cells

Shimomura,Seiji; Inoue,Hiroaki; Arai,Yuji; Nakagawa,Shuji; Fujii,Yuta; Kishida,Tsunao; Shin‑Ya,Masaharu; Ichimaru,Shohei; Tsuchida,Shinji; Mazda,Osam; Kubo,Toshikazu

doi:10.3892/mmr.2022.12745

Hypoxia promotes differentiation of pure cartilage from human induced pluripotent stem cells

Authors:
- Seiji Shimomura
- Hiroaki Inoue
- Yuji Arai
- Shuji Nakagawa
- Yuta Fujii
- Tsunao Kishida
- Masaharu Shin‑Ya
- Shohei Ichimaru
- Shinji Tsuchida
- Osam Mazda
- Toshikazu Kubo
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Affiliations: Department of Orthopedics, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto 602‑8566, Japan, Department of Orthopedics, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto 602‑8566, Japan, Department of Sports and Para‑Sports Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto 602‑8566, Japan, Department of Immunology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto 602‑8566, Japan
Published online on: May 20, 2022 https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2022.12745
Article Number: 229
Copyright: © Shimomura et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

While cartilage can be produced from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), challenges such as long culture periods and compromised tissue purity continue to prevail. The present study aimed to determine whether cartilaginous tissue could be produced from iPSCs under hypoxia and, if so, to evaluate its effects on cellular metabolism and purity of the produced tissue. Human iPSCs (hiPSCs) were cultured for cartilage differentiation in monolayers under normoxia or hypoxia (5% O₂), and chondrocyte differentiation was evaluated using reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR and fluorescence‑activated cell sorting. Subsequently, cartilage differentiation of hiPSCs was conducted in 3D culture under normoxia or hypoxia (5% O₂), and the formed cartilage‑like tissues were evaluated on days 28 and 56 using histological analyses. Hypoxia suppressed the expression levels of the immature mesodermal markers brachyury (T) and forkhead box protein F1; however, it promoted the expression of the chondrogenic markers Acan and CD44. The number of sex‑determining region Y‑box 9‑positive cells and the percentages of safranin O‑positive and type 2 collagen‑positive tissues increased under hypoxic conditions. Moreover, upon hypoxia‑inducible factor (HIF)‑1α staining, nuclei of tissues cultured under hypoxia stained more deeply compared with those of tissues cultured under normoxia. Overall, these findings indicated that hypoxia not only enhanced cartilage matrix production, but also improved tissue purity by promoting the expression of HIF‑1α gene. Potentially, pure cartilage‑like tissues could be produced rapidly and conveniently using this method.

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