RESEARCH ARTICLE
Scaffold Stiffness Influences Cell Behavior: Opportunities for Skeletal Tissue Engineering
Roel G.M Breuls1, 3, Timothy U Jiya2, 3, Theo H Smit*, 1, 3
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2008Volume: 2
First Page: 103
Last Page: 109
Publisher ID: TOORTHJ-2-103
DOI: 10.2174/1874325000802010103
Article History:
Received Date: 31/3/2008Revision Received Date: 21/4/2008
Acceptance Date: 14/5/2008
Electronic publication date: 29/5/2008
Collection year: 2008

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/), which permits unrestrictive use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Skeletal defects resulting from trauma, tumors, or abnormal development frequently require surgical treatment to restore normal tissue function. To overcome the limitations associated with conventional surgical treatments, several tissue engineering approaches have been developed. In particular, the use of scaffolds enriched with stem cells appears to be a very promising strategy. A crucial issue in this approach is how to control stem cell behavior. In this respect, the effects of growth factors, scaffold surface characteristics, and external ‘active’ loading conditions on stem cell behavior have been investigated. Recently, it has become clear that the stiffness of a scaffold is a highly potent regulator of stem cell differentiation. In addition, the stiffness of a scaffold affects cell migration, which is important for the infiltration of host tissue cells. This review summarizes current knowledge on the role of the scaffold stiffness in the regulation of cell behavior. Furthermore, we discuss how this knowledge can be incorporated in scaffold design which may provide new opportunities in the context of orthopedic tissue engineering.