Cultivation of Human Bone-Like Tissue from Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Osteogenic Progenitors in Perfusion Bioreactors

Human pluripotent stem cells represent an unlimited source of skeletal tissue progenitors for studies of bone biology, pathogenesis, and the development of new approaches for bone reconstruction and therapies. In order to construct in vitro models of bone tissue development and to grow functional, clinical-size bone substitutes for transplantation, cell cultivation in three-dimensional environments composed of porous osteoconductive scaffolds and dynamic culture systems—bioreactors—has been studied. Here, we describe a stepwise procedure for the induction of human embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells (collectively termed PSCs) into mesenchymal-like progenitors, and their subsequent cultivation on decellularized bovine bone scaffolds in perfusion bioreactors, to support the development of viable, stable bone-like tissue in defined geometries.