The Application of Mechanical Stimulations in Tendon Tissue Engineering

Figure 4

Signal transduction of mechanical loading in tenogenic differentiation. The mechanical stimulations and the mechanical properties of substrate including topography and stiffness can activate the integrins, which causes the changes of downstream signaling molecules and results in tenogenic differentiation. The mechanical stimulations and growth factors both can activate the TGF-β receptors, inducing tenogenic differentiation. The mechanical stimulations can open the calcium channel and bring about the inflow of Ca²⁺, which regulates tenogenic differentiation.