Cartilage Organoids from Articular Chondroprogenitor Cells and Their Potential to Produce Neo-Hyaline Cartilage

This work demonstrates scalable generation of cartilage organoids using human articular chondroprogenitor cells (hACPCs) stimulated with BMP-9 in spinner flasks without xenogeneic matrix additives. hACPC organoids self-assembled, produced glycosaminoglycan-rich ECM, and fused into neo-hyaline cartilage-like constructs with uniform matrix distribution. Compared to chondrocyte organoids requiring porcine notochordal matrix (NCM), hACPC constructs exhibited equivalent mechanical strength (~24 kPa vs ~21 kPa), higher sGAG content (~0.82 µg/organoid vs 0.53 µg/organoid), and enhanced type II collagen and SOX9 expression. Fusion produced larger and more homogeneous tissues than hPAC constructs, confirming the potential of hACPCs as a renewable cell source for cartilage repair and biofabrication.