Cartilage stem cells: regulation of differentiation.

The developing limb bud is a useful source of cartilage stem cells for studies on the regulation of chondrogenesis. In high density cultures these cells can progress through all stages of chondrogenesis to produce mineralized hypertrophic cartilage. If the cells are maintained in a spherical shape, single stem cells can progress through a similar sequence. The actin cytoskeleton is implicated in the regulation of chondrogenesis since conditions that favor its disruption promote chondrogenesis and conditions that favor actin assembly inhibit chondrogenesis. Since a number of extracellular matrix receptors mediate effects of the extracellular matrix on cytoskeletal organization and some of these receptors are developmentally regulated, it is proposed that matrix receptor expression plays a central role in the divergence of connective tissue cells during development.