FGF-2 signaling dominance in TGF-β1/FGF-2–primed nasoseptal chondrocytes for cartilage tissue engineering

Nasoseptal chondrocytes (NCs) are a viable cell source for engineering autologous hyaline cartilage grafts for nasal reconstruction or repairing articular cartilage lesions. Fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-2 and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 are commonly used to optimize cell yield and chondrogenic capacity during in vitro culture. However, the comprehensive molecular effects of these factors have yet to be elucidated. Leveraging RNA sequencing, this study characterizes the individual and interactive effects of FGF-2 and TGF-β1 on the NC monolayer transcriptome and subsequent 3D cartilage microtissue qualities, revealing that dual-primed NC transcriptomes converge on an FGF-2-like state. Altogether, our analysis of growth factor interactions at the molecular level provides novel, foundational insights into the regulation of intracellular signaling pathways essential to advancing tissue engineering strategies.