ArticleJournal of biomedical materials research. Part A2025
Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Chondrogenic Differentiation Induced by Continuous Stiffness Gradient in Photocrosslinkable Hydrogels.
Article in Journal of biomedical materials research. Part A, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Mechanically graded granular scaffolds for osteochondral tissue engineering.Biomaterials advances · 2026Article
- Biophysical signal-driven scaffold design for stem cell-guided osteochondral regeneration.Bioactive materials · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Chondrogenic differentiation of stem and progenitor cells is dependent on the biophysical properties of the surrounding matrix. Current biomaterials-based approaches for chondrogenesis are limited to discrete platforms, slowing our ability to interrogate the role of mechanical cues such as substrate stiffness and other signals. Thus, novel platforms must incorporate a range of biophysical properties within a single construct to effectively assess changes in cell response. We encapsulated human mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) within biodegradable, photocurable oxidized, and methacrylated alginate (OMA). Cell-laden hydrogels were crosslinked when exposed to light through a grayscale photomask to form substrates with a continuous stiffness gradient. We also tested the influence of the adhesive ligand Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) on chondrogenic differentiation. Compared to unmodified gels possessing uniform biophysical properties, RGD-modified OMA hydrogels with the same modulus promoted chondrogenic differentiation of MSCs as evidenced by gene expression, matrix deposition, and histological analysis. MSCs entrapped in OMA hydrogels exhibiting a biologically relevant stiffness gradient (2-13 kPa over 8 mm) demonstrated increased chondrogenic differentiation with increases in stiffness. MSC chondrogenic differentiation was dependent upon the ability to mechanosense the modulus of the surrounding matrix, confirmed by the addition of Latrunculin A (LatA), a soluble inhibitor of actin polymerization. These findings validate a methodology for customizing hydrogel platforms for chondrogenic differentiation and identifying the interplay of key variables to instruct cell function.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.