Overview
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic degenerative joint disorder that affects millions of people worldwide, primarily causing pain and disability. Osteochondral organ culture models are an in vitro system that is used to study OA development and progression. This system consists of hyaline cartilage and subchondral bone placed within an extracellular matrix scaffold, providing a 3-dimensional structure that mimics the extracellular matrix environment in vivo. By using this organ culture model, researchers can study the effects of specific treatments on the development and progression of OA with the aim of developing more effective and tailored OA treatments. This model elegantly bridges the gap between the in vitro and in vivo research fields, providing researchers with an invaluable platform to study and understand OA in unprecedented detail.