FIG. 2.

Uniaxial tensile test results for tissue constructs after 5 weeks of culture. (A) Ultimate tensile strength (UTS). Both hypoxic culture (2% pO₂) and insulin supplementation (2 μg/mL) alone yielded an increase in UTS. Hypoxia and insulin together yielded a substantially higher UTS compared with all other groups. (B) Modulus. The modulus increased only under hypoxic conditions. n=12 for each bar (three independent experiments). The effect of insulin on modulus was marginally significant (p=0.08). (C) UTS and (D) Modulus for tissue cultured under 20% O₂ with insulin, treated with (hatched bars) and without (solid bars) sodium azide to kill the cells in the construct, indicating no contribution of live cells to the mechanical properties of the tissue. *p<0.05 compared with control (20% pO₂, no insulin group). ^§p<0.05 compared with all other groups.