Materials Stiffness‐Dependent Redox Metabolic Reprogramming of Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Secretome‐Based Therapeutic Angiogenesis

Research Overview

Redox metabolism shapes the paracrine activity and therapeutic value of mesenchymal stem cells, yet while materials cues are widely used to steer differentiation, their role in controlling redox paracrine signaling was largely unexplored.

Using mechanically tunable fibronectin-conjugated polyacrylamide hydrogels, this study showed that a compliant microenvironment matching native tissue stiffness (E = 0.15 kPa) mechano-regulates intracellular reactive oxygen species levels in human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells — and that the cells respond to that ROS imbalance with metabolic reprogramming, tying substrate mechanics to stem cell secretory function.