Intensity-dependent microcurrent stimulation enhances BMSC-derived cartilage microtissue formation under defined culture conditions.

Xiang Fei, Hao Wu, Mengxing Li, Yong Xu, Hongtao He, Zhao An

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Materials today. Bio, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Xiang FeiDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.

Hao WuDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, Shanghai Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.

Mengxing LiDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.

Yong XuDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.

Hongtao HeDepartment of Orthopedics, the Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.

Zhao AnDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Engineering phenotypically favorable cartilage-like tissue from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) remains challenging because chondrogenic differentiation can be accompanied by insufficient cartilage-associated extracellular matrix accumulation and unfavorable hypertrophic and catabolic responses. Here, we established a microcurrent-assisted culture system for scaffold-free BMSC-derived cartilage microtissues (CMTs) and investigated the intensity-dependent effects of continuous unidirectional direct-current stimulation at 0, 50, 100, 150, 250, or 500 μA under a defined electrical and culture configuration. Among the tested conditions, 150 μA (nominal electrode current density, 3 μA/mm

Indexed as

BMSCsCartilage-like matrix formationCartilage microtissuesChondrogenic differentiationMicrocurrent stimulation

Identifiers

PMID42828103

DOI10.1016/j.mtbio.2026.103698

PMCPMC13631619

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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.