Abstract
Cartilage particles derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPS-Carts) are one candidate source for transplants for treatment of articular cartilage damage. This study shows that hiPS-Carts integrate with each other in an in vitro model and analyzed the course of the integration. The integration starts at the perichondrium-like membrane at around 1 week and then progresses to the central cartilage within 4-8 weeks. The results indicate that FGF18 secreted from the perichondrium-like membrane accelerates the initial step of integration. The findings contribute to understanding how hiPS-Carts form repair tissue and provide clue to accelerate healing after transplantation.