Guanbin Song∗,†,‡, Qing Luo*, Baiyao Xu*, Yang Ju†
Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.7, No.3, pp. 165-174, 2010, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2010.007.165
Abstract It has been demonstrated that mechanical stimulation plays a vital role in regulating the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells. However, little is known about the effects of mechanical stress on tendon/ligament development from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Here, using a custom-made cell-stretching device, we studied the effects of mechanical stretching on the cell morphology and mRNA expression of several key genes modulating tendon/ligament genesis. We demonstrate that bone-marrow-derived rat MSCs (rMSCs), when subjected to cyclic uniaxial stretching, express obvious detectable mRNAs for tenascin C and scleraxis, a unique maker of tendon/ligament formation, and significantly More >