Engineering Approaches for Understanding Osteogenesis: Hydrogels as Synthetic Bone Microenvironments

The microenvironment, which can be considered the sum of all the components and conditions surrounding a particular cell, is critical to moderating cellular behavior. In bone, interactions with the microenvironment can influence osteogenic differentiation, and subsequent extracellular matrix deposition, mineralization, and bone growth. Beyond regenerative medicine purposes, tissue engineering tools, namely cell-scaffold constructs, can be used as models of the bone microenvironment. Hydrogels, which are hydrophilic polymer networks, are popularly used for cell culture constructs due to their substantial water content and their ability to be tailored for specific applications. As synthetic microenvironments, a level of control can be exerted on the hydrogel structure and material properties, such that individual contributions from the scaffold on cellular behavior can be observed. Both biochemical and mechanical stimuli have been shown to modulate cellular behaviors. Hydrogels can be modified to present cell-interactive ligands, include osteoinductive moieties, vary mechanical properties, and be subject to external mechanical stimulation, all of which have been shown to affect osteogenic differentiation. Following "bottom-up" fabrication methods, levels of complexity can be introduced to hydrogel systems, such that the synergistic effects of multiple osteogenic cues can be observed. This review explores the utility of hydrogel scaffolds as synthetic bone microenvironments to observe both individual and synergistic effects from biochemical and mechanical signals on osteogenic differentiation. Ultimately, a better understanding of how material properties can influence cellular behavior will better inform design of tissue engineering scaffolds, not just for studying cell behavior, but also for regenerative medicine purposes.