Apoorv Saraogee

Engineering a chondrogenic microenvironment to promote MSC chondrogenesis Bacherlors of Science in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Thesis School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology Abstract Osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by the degradation of articular cartilage and affects 27 million people in the US. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a promising cell source for OA therapies because of their immunomodulatory properties and ability to be differentiated along a chondrogenic lineage. Traditional chondrogenic differentiation of MSCs relies on using growth factors such as TGF-βs, but cells rapidly undergo hypertrophy and are not able to withstand the same mechanical load as healthy hyaline cartilage.