defects (*, p <.001). A DMMB assay revealed a significant advantage for BCP proteoglycan production relative to JC or hMSC pellets that were cultured with TNF-α (10 ng/mL) and IL1-β cytokines (10 ng/mL), and/or at 2% O2 for 21 days, N=10. Results were normalized to DNA content, N=10 (B), which showed no statistical differences between the cell types (hMSC, JC and BCP) within the conditions: TNFα/IL1β, Hypoxia or Hypoxia + TNFα/IL1β).