Figure 8.
Expression of the tenomodulin gene in response to treatment with GDF-5. (A) Cells on 3D scaffold, and (B) on 2D film. Gene expression for tenomodulin, a marker of the mature tendon phenotype, was not significantly different in cells treated with GDF-5 compared to cells cultured in basal medium without GDF-5 at early and late time points. Tenomodulin gene expression by cells on 3D scaffold increased over time (A), and was higher than expression by cells on 2D film (B) at 7 days. Gene expression data is normalized to the 18s gene and expression of day 3 on 3D scaffold without GDF-5 (0ng/mL).