Fig. 2. Enhanced TGF-β signaling mediated by various biomaterial platforms.
Exogenous TGF-β family ligands including BMPs are integrated into layers of synthetic polymers to promote TGF-β signaling through ALK5 and TβRII and BMPRI/II receptors for Smad2/3 and Smad1/5/8 pathways, respectively. Smads control the adhesion, migration and differentiation of various cell/tissue implants while further augmenting ECM deposition surrounding the biomaterial scaffolds.