March 16
@
12:00 PM
–
1:00 PM
From Development to Repair: Using Skeletal Development Principles to Advance Stem Cell-Mediated Cartilage Regeneration
Wan-Ju Li, PhD, FIOR
Associate Professor
Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Abstract:
Why does cartilage regeneration still fall short despite major progress in stem cell engineering? In this seminar, I will argue that one important reason is that cartilage repair strategies are often developed without fully accounting for the developmental programs that shape cartilage formation in vivo. I will present our lab’s recent work showing that developmental origin strongly influences the identity and regenerative potential of human iPSC-derived chondrocytes.
Using isogenic differentiation models, we compared mesoderm-derived and neural crest-derived chondrocytes and found that neural crest-derived chondrocytes more closely resemble native articular chondrocytes and perform better in cartilage repair settings. Building on these findings, I will also discuss our efforts to develop a stepwise induction strategy for generating chondrocytes from human iPSC-derived neural crest cells in a more controlled and efficient manner.
Together, these studies support a broader message that developmental biology is not simply background knowledge for regenerative medicine, but a practical framework for selecting better cell sources, asking more precise biological questions, and overcoming major barriers in the field.
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