Cell mediated reactions create TGF-β delivery limitations in engineered cartilage.

During native cartilage development, endogenous TGF-β activity is tightly regulated by cell-mediated chemical reactions in the extracellular milieu (e.g., matrix and receptor binding), providing spatiotemporal control in a manner that is localized and short acting.

Computational and experimental characterizations of the spatiotemporal activity and functional role of TGF-β in the synovial joint.

TGF-β is a prominent anabolic signaling molecule associated with synovial joint health. Recent work has uncovered mechanochemical mechanisms that activate the latent form of TGF-β (LTGF-β) in the synovial joint-synovial fluid (SF) shearing or cartilage compression-pointing to mechanobiological phenomena, whereby enhanced TGF-β activity occurs during joint stimulation. Here, we implement computational and experimental models to better understand the role of mechanochemical-activated TGF-β (aTGF-β) in regulating the functional biosynthetic activities of synovial joint tissues.