The effects of prostaglandin E2 on gene expression of IDG-SW3-derived osteocytes in 2D and 3D culture.

Prostaglandin E (PGE) is a key signaling molecule produced by osteocytes in response to mechanical loading, but its effect on osteocytes is less understood. This work examined the effect of PGE on IDG-SW3-derived osteocytes in standard 2D culture (collagen-coated tissue culture polystyrene) and in a 3D degradable poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogel. IDG-SW3 cells were differentiated for 35 days into osteocytes in 2D and 3D cultures.

A 3D, Dynamically Loaded Hydrogel Model of the Osteochondral Unit to Study Osteocyte Mechanobiology.

Osteocytes are mechanosensitive cells that orchestrate signaling in bone and cartilage across the osteochondral unit. The mechanisms by which osteocytes regulate osteochondral homeostasis and degeneration in response to mechanical cues remain unclear. This study introduces a novel 3D hydrogel bilayer composite designed to support osteocyte differentiation and bone matrix deposition in a bone-like layer and to recapitulate key aspects of the osteochondral unit's complex loading environment.

IDG-SW3 Osteocyte Differentiation and Bone Extracellular Matrix Deposition Are Enhanced in a 3D Matrix Metalloproteinase-Sensitive Hydrogel.

Osteocytes reside within a heavily mineralized matrix making them difficult to study and to extract for studies . IDG-SW3 cells are capable of producing mineralized collagen matrix and transitioning from osteoblasts to mature osteocytes, thus offering an alternative to study osteoblast to late osteocyte differentiation . The goal for this work was to develop a 3D degradable hydrogel to support IDG-SW3 differentiation and deposition of bone ECM.