One step closer to therapies based on cartilage regeneration

Congratulations to Margot Rikkers on the publication of the paper “Importance of Timing of Platelet Lysate-Supplementation in Expanding or Redifferentiating Human Chondrocytes for Chondrogenesis” in the Preclinical Cell and Gene therapy section of Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology magazine.

This research is being conducted as part of the Osteoarthritis Moonshot, which aims to develop an affordable treatment for this chronic disease, by creating a biomechanically smart functional implant that immediately restores pain-free function.

“Osteoarthritis in articular joints is a prevalent disease. With increasing life expectancy, the need for therapies other than knee replacement arises. The intrinsic repair capacity of cartilage is limited, therefore alternative strategies for cartilage regeneration are being explored”, refers Rikkers. “The purpose of this study is first to investigate the potential of platelet lysate (PL) as a xeno-free alternative in expansion of human OA chondrocytes for cell therapy, and second to assess the effects of PL on re-differentiation of expanded chondrocytes in 3D pellet cultures.”