GDF5+ chondroprogenitors derived from human pluripotent stem cells preferentially form permanent chondrocytes

It has been established in the mouse model that during embryogenesis joint cartilage is generated from a specialized progenitor cell type, distinct from that responsible for the formation of growth plate cartilage. We recently found that mesodermal progeny of human pluripotent stem cells gave rise to two types of chondrogenic mesenchymal cells in culture: SOX9+ and GDF5+ cells. The fast-growing SOX9+ cells formed in vitro cartilage that expressed chondrocyte hypertrophy markers and readily underwent mineralization after ectopic transplantation. In contrast, the slowly growing GDF5+ cells derived from SOX9+ cells formed cartilage that tended to express low to undetectable levels of chondrocyte hypertrophy markers, but expressed PRG4, a marker of embryonic articular chondrocytes. The GDF5+-derived cartilage remained largely unmineralized in vivo. Interestingly, chondrocytes derived from the GDF5+ cells seemed to elicit these activities via non-cell-autonomous mechanisms. Genome-wide transcriptomic analyses suggested that GDF5+ cells might contain a teno/ligamento-genic potential, whereas SOX9+ cells resembled neural crest-like progeny-derived chondroprogenitors. Thus, human pluripotent stem cell-derived GDF5+ cells specified to generate permanent-like cartilage seem to emerge coincidentally with the commitment of the SOX9+ progeny to the tendon/ligament lineage.