Regenerative MedicineScientists Grow Human Jawbone Organoids from Stem Cells in 3D Culture
Researchers at Kyoto University developed a method to grow jawbone-like organoids from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) using a stepwise 3D culture system. By mimicking the embryonic sequence — from neural crest cells through mandibular ectomesenchyme — they produced organoids containing osteoblasts, network-forming osteocytes, and self-mineralized bone matrix. The organoids promoted bone repair when transplanted into jaw defects in animal models, and replicated bone fragility seen in osteogenesis imperfecta patients using disease-specific iPSCs. This is the first system to faithfully recapitulate jaw-specific bone development in a 3D human tissue model, opening doors for studying jaw diseases, testing therapies, and eventually rebuilding bone lost to infection, trauma, or cancer.
