Aligned Substrate Topography induces MSC tenogenic differentiation through the Rho/ROCK pathway

摘要

The process of tenoinduction was dependent on surface anisotropy presented by aligned collagen sheet. Aligned sheet induced cellular elongation which caused the tenogenic commitment of MSC. This process was coupled with cytoskeleton tension and cell shape regulatory mechanism of Rho/ROCK pathway. Such that independent disruption of the cytoskeleton and Rho/ROCK pathway inhibited cell stretch morphology and abolished Scleraxis, as well as tgfb expression. Together, these studies suggest that tension fiber generation in MSC during cellular elongation is essential for MSC tendon-differentiation and that the Rho/ROCK pathway plays an important role during MSC tenogenic differentiation. These findings may lead to novel strategies for scaffold development, tendon tissue engineering, and targeting microenvironments for stem cell-based tendon regeneration and repair.