BACKGROUND In this feasibility study, a mechanically loaded in-vitro tissue culture model of joint morphogenesis using the isolated lower extremity of the 8 day old chick embryo was developed to assess the effects of mechanical loading on joint morphogenesis. METHODS The developed in-vitro system allows controlled flexion and extension of the chick embryonic knee with a range of motion of 20 ...

Joint morphogenesis requires mechanical activity during development. Loss of mechanical strain causes abnormal joint development, which can impact long-term joint health. Although cell orientation and proliferation are known to shape the joint, dynamic imaging of developing joints in vivo has not been possible in other species. Using genetic labelling techniques in zebrafish we were able, for t...

Recent knowledge about biological joint morphogenesis opens new perspectives in mechanics to automate contact surface design. The present work evaluates the feasibility of a generative design method inspired by process develop surfaces. A finite element model reported literature was implemented. This adapted and implemented for mechanical applications. results show that bioinspired shaping adds...

The extracellular matrix (ECM) plays a critical role in governing cell behavior and phenotype during limb skeletogenesis. Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (Cspgs) are highly expressed in the ECM of precartilage mesenchymal condensations and are important to limb chondrogenesis and cartilage structure, but little is known regarding their involvement in formation of synovial joints in the embryo...

This commentary is a concise discussion of the interactions between bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) and their binding proteins in bone and cartilage morphogenesis. BMPs are a family of growth and differentiation factors, and they act on mesenchymal cells to induce cartilage and bone differentiation in concentration-dependent thresholds. The BMP-BMP receptor binding leads to a cascade of sign...

Nature has developed smart strategies to morph joint contact surfaces as a response local mechanical stimuli. Hence, it is compelling explore the advantages of mimicking these design pieces. Researchers and engineers have generative mostly focused on structural topological shape optimization. However, are not well for surfaces, even though they critical points in engineering structures machiner...

Kathryn Anderson is Professor and Chair of the Developmental Biology Program at the Sloan Kettering Institute in New York. Her lab investigates the genetic networks underlying the patterning and morphogenesis of the early mouse embryo. We caught up with Kathryn at the 2016 Society for Developmental Biology - International Society of Differentiation joint meeting in Boston, where she was awarded...

David McClay is the Arthur S. Pearse Professor of Biology at Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, Duke University, North Carolina. His lab works on the transcriptional control of morphogenesis in the sea urchin embryo. We caught up with David at the 2016 Society for Developmental Biology - International Society of Differentiation joint meeting in Boston, where he received the Lifetime Achievem...