Monitoring mechanical stimulation for optimal tendon tissue engineering: a mechanical and biological multiscale study

This multiscale tendon tissue engineering study investigated how cyclic mechanical stimulation shapes both the biological response of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) and the evolving mechanical behavior of cell–scaffold constructs. Rat BMSCs were cultured on random electrospun PCL scaffolds under static versus dynamic stretching conditions (5% strain, 1 Hz, 1 h twice daily over up to 12 days). Dynamically stimulated constructs showed clear cell alignment along the loading axis, increased collagen synthesis (hydroxyproline), more organized type I collagen deposition, and increased expression/alignment of tenomodulin, supporting tenogenic differentiation without chemical induction. Mechanical stimulation also shifted construct mechanical behavior toward a more tendon-like response, with dynamically stimulated cell-constructs demonstrating enhanced elastic contribution (storage modulus) relative to static culture conditions.