Simulating differentiation from iPS cells to chondrocytes

Osteoarthritis is a common condition involving the degradation of cartilage, affecting around 10% of the population aged 60 and older. Currently, no effective treatment exists. To make efficient and personalised therapies, we need a better understanding of the development and maintenance of the articular joint. Recently, much effort has been put into using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) to generate cartilage for regenerative therapies. However, the cell fate decisions during differentiation of iPS cells to e.g. chondrocytes are not yet known. Consequently, a laborious and uncontrollable trial-and-error approach is currently applied to address heterogeneity in iPS-cell differentiation protocols. Based on data collected during iPS-cell differentiation to chondrocytes, we constructed a model in which different protocols can be studied, hence predicting credible factors that direct cell fate decisions.