Directional Topography Influences Adipose Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Plasticity: Prospects for Tissue Engineering and Fibrosis

Figure 6

Influence of micrometer-sized topography and TGF-β1 stimulation on mesenchymal gene expression in adhered ASC over seven days. Expression of ACTA2 (a) and TAGLN (b) increased over 3 days, independent of TGF-β1 stimulation and topography (flat vs. 1 or 11 μm wavelength). For the net influence of TGF-β1 and topography, the area under the curve was determined for total expression of ACTA1 (c) and TAGLN (d), respectively. This showed no differences between flat material and topographies, irrespective of TGF-β1. Values represent of 3 independent experiments. Statistical analysis was performed comparing the flat topography to both of the linear topography patterns for both TGF-β1-stimulated and not stimulated groups.

(a) Expression of ACTA2 over time

(b) Expression of TAGLN over time

(c) Area under the curve for ACTA2 expression

(d) Area under the curve for TAGLN expression