Abstract

A Novel 3D Osteocyte in vitro Model Using Pre-Osteoblast Cells

Jeonghyun Kim, Postdoctoral Fellow, Kyoto University

In vitro bone related studies have been widely conducted using 2D culture system and led to great academic achievements in the field of fundamental bone biology and physiology. However, little is known about an in vitro 3D structural effect on the bone studies, in particular osteocytes. In this study, we fabricated a novel 3D in vitro tissue engineered constructs, termed scaffold-free tissues, using murine pre-osteoblast cells. Within 2 days, the pre-osteoblast cells in the 3D scaffold-free tissue rendered the osteocyte differentiation even without adding osteogenic supplements. We first highlighted that the cell condensation achieved in the 3D structure played an important role in osteocyte differentiation of pre-osteoblast cells, beyond the chemical induction using osteogenic supplements. Our novel in vitro 3D tissue engineered construct is expected to become a powerful tool for a new in vitro osteocyte model and further to contribute to in vivo study by transplantation for bone regenerative medicine.