A synthetic mechanogenetic gene circuit for autonomous drug delivery in engineered tissues.

Mechanobiologic signals regulate cellular responses under physiologic and pathologic conditions. Using synthetic biology and tissue engineering, we developed a mechanically responsive bioartificial tissue that responds to mechanical loading to produce a preprogrammed therapeutic biologic drug. By deconstructing the signaling networks induced by activation of the mechanically sensitive ion channel transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4), we created synthetic TRPV4-responsive genetic circuits in chondrocytes.

Long non-coding RNA enhances chondrogenesis via suppression of the interferon type II signaling pathway.

The roles of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in musculoskeletal development, disease, and regeneration remain poorly understood. Here, we identified the novel lncRNA (originally named ) as a regulator of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) chondrogenesis. , a primate-specific lncRNA, is upregulated during MSC chondrogenesis and appears to act directly downstream of SOX9, but not TGF-β3.