Collagen scaffold anisotropy and static tension maintain human tendon cell phenotype in culture

Biophysical in nature signals, due to their simplicity in implementation, are at the forefront of research and innovation to control tendon cell function in vitro. In this work, we first assessed the influence of substrate rigidity and surface topography on human tendon cells using differentially crosslinked planar and grooved collagen scaffolds. We identified the 0.5 mM 4-arm polyethylene glycol succinimidyl glutarate concentration as the optimal one to maintain basic cell function. All crosslinked grooved substrates induced bidirectional cell and synthesised matrix orientation, without bringing about a noteworthy change in gene expression. We subsequently subjected the 0.5 mM 4-arm polyethylene glycol succinimidyl glutarate crosslinked planar and grooved collagen scaffolds to no tension, static tension and cyclic tension. Basic cell function, protein synthesis and gene expression analyses experimentation identified the static tension to have beneficial effects in human tendon cell function. Collectively, this study advocates the use of combined biophysical cues to maintain physiological cell function.