Applications in osteochondral organoids for osteoarthritis research: from pathomimetic modeling to tissue engineering repair

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent degenerative joint disorder characterized by complex tissue interactions, featuring cartilage degradation, synovitis, and aberrant subchondral bone remodeling. Current therapies often fail to halt disease progression and typically lack comprehensive strategies targ...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yingguang Jiao, Shanyu Lu, Jianwei Zhang, Junping Zhen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-07-01
Series:Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2025.1629608/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850060440727453696
author Yingguang Jiao
Yingguang Jiao
Shanyu Lu
Shanyu Lu
Jianwei Zhang
Junping Zhen
Junping Zhen
author_facet Yingguang Jiao
Yingguang Jiao
Shanyu Lu
Shanyu Lu
Jianwei Zhang
Junping Zhen
Junping Zhen
author_sort Yingguang Jiao
collection DOAJ
description Osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent degenerative joint disorder characterized by complex tissue interactions, featuring cartilage degradation, synovitis, and aberrant subchondral bone remodeling. Current therapies often fail to halt disease progression and typically lack comprehensive strategies targeting OA pathogenesis. Osteochondral organoids have recently emerged as innovative 3D biological models for investigating OA mechanisms and developing personalized therapies. These models recapitulate dynamic cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions within the articular microenvironment. This review evaluates progress in applying osteochondral organoids to osteoarthritis, focusing on their fabrication strategies, applications, and key challenges. It emphasizes their role in osteoarthritis modeling, drug screening, and cartilage regeneration, while exploring future directions for their development. Despite these advances, clinical translation of osteochondral organoids faces significant challenges, including standardization, vascularization, and immunomodulation. Future integration with organ-on-chip platforms, multi-omics, and AI promises to create more precise OA research models. Such integration will bridge the gap between bench research and clinical practice.
format Article
id doaj-art-bf4fef12333441cdb5bf9eb1a23cbe69
institution DOAJ
issn 2296-4185
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology
spelling doaj-art-bf4fef12333441cdb5bf9eb1a23cbe692025-08-20T02:50:33ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology2296-41852025-07-011310.3389/fbioe.2025.16296081629608Applications in osteochondral organoids for osteoarthritis research: from pathomimetic modeling to tissue engineering repairYingguang Jiao0Yingguang Jiao1Shanyu Lu2Shanyu Lu3Jianwei Zhang4Junping Zhen5Junping Zhen6College of Medical Imaging, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, ChinaDepartment of Imaging, Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, ChinaCollege of Medical Imaging, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, ChinaDepartment of Imaging, Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, ChinaDepartment of Imaging, Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, ChinaDepartment of Imaging, Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, ChinaMolecular Imaging Laboratory, Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, ChinaOsteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent degenerative joint disorder characterized by complex tissue interactions, featuring cartilage degradation, synovitis, and aberrant subchondral bone remodeling. Current therapies often fail to halt disease progression and typically lack comprehensive strategies targeting OA pathogenesis. Osteochondral organoids have recently emerged as innovative 3D biological models for investigating OA mechanisms and developing personalized therapies. These models recapitulate dynamic cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions within the articular microenvironment. This review evaluates progress in applying osteochondral organoids to osteoarthritis, focusing on their fabrication strategies, applications, and key challenges. It emphasizes their role in osteoarthritis modeling, drug screening, and cartilage regeneration, while exploring future directions for their development. Despite these advances, clinical translation of osteochondral organoids faces significant challenges, including standardization, vascularization, and immunomodulation. Future integration with organ-on-chip platforms, multi-omics, and AI promises to create more precise OA research models. Such integration will bridge the gap between bench research and clinical practice.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2025.1629608/fullosteoarthritisosteochondral organoidstissue engineeringdrug screening3D bioprintingpathomimetic modeling
spellingShingle Yingguang Jiao
Yingguang Jiao
Shanyu Lu
Shanyu Lu
Jianwei Zhang
Junping Zhen
Junping Zhen
Applications in osteochondral organoids for osteoarthritis research: from pathomimetic modeling to tissue engineering repair
Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology
osteoarthritis
osteochondral organoids
tissue engineering
drug screening
3D bioprinting
pathomimetic modeling
title Applications in osteochondral organoids for osteoarthritis research: from pathomimetic modeling to tissue engineering repair
title_full Applications in osteochondral organoids for osteoarthritis research: from pathomimetic modeling to tissue engineering repair
title_fullStr Applications in osteochondral organoids for osteoarthritis research: from pathomimetic modeling to tissue engineering repair
title_full_unstemmed Applications in osteochondral organoids for osteoarthritis research: from pathomimetic modeling to tissue engineering repair
title_short Applications in osteochondral organoids for osteoarthritis research: from pathomimetic modeling to tissue engineering repair
title_sort applications in osteochondral organoids for osteoarthritis research from pathomimetic modeling to tissue engineering repair
topic osteoarthritis
osteochondral organoids
tissue engineering
drug screening
3D bioprinting
pathomimetic modeling
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2025.1629608/full
work_keys_str_mv AT yingguangjiao applicationsinosteochondralorganoidsforosteoarthritisresearchfrompathomimeticmodelingtotissueengineeringrepair
AT yingguangjiao applicationsinosteochondralorganoidsforosteoarthritisresearchfrompathomimeticmodelingtotissueengineeringrepair
AT shanyulu applicationsinosteochondralorganoidsforosteoarthritisresearchfrompathomimeticmodelingtotissueengineeringrepair
AT shanyulu applicationsinosteochondralorganoidsforosteoarthritisresearchfrompathomimeticmodelingtotissueengineeringrepair
AT jianweizhang applicationsinosteochondralorganoidsforosteoarthritisresearchfrompathomimeticmodelingtotissueengineeringrepair
AT junpingzhen applicationsinosteochondralorganoidsforosteoarthritisresearchfrompathomimeticmodelingtotissueengineeringrepair
AT junpingzhen applicationsinosteochondralorganoidsforosteoarthritisresearchfrompathomimeticmodelingtotissueengineeringrepair