Figure 3.

Influence of local scaffold microenvironment and applied tensile load on integrin expression profiles. a) Schematic of Flexcell bioreactor system loaded with MSC-seeded osteotendinous scaffold. b) Representative confocal micrographs of MSCs within distinct tendinous and osseous compartments. Green channel: actin, Red channel: collagen scaffold, Blue channel: nuclei, Scale bars: 50 μm. c) Western blots of fibronectin-related integrin subunit expression profiles in tendinous and osseous compartments under static and dynamic culture, showing consistently higher expression in the tendinous compartment and in response to stretch. d) Normalized blot intensity quantitatively showed higher levels of expression in the tendinous compartment and in response to tensile loading across both compartments. *: significantly higher expression than CGCaP compartment.