Effect of Mechanical Stimulations on the Fate of Stem Cells - A Review

The provision of an adequate quantity of cells with proper function and purity is one of the main challenges of tissue engineering studies. Stem cells، with their self-renewal and differentiation capacity، are considered one of the main cell sources in the field of tissue engineering. Previously، the use of chemical factors seemed to be the only possible way for stem cell differentiation. However، scientists have recently realized that physiological processes of the human body are composed of chemical، mechanical and electrical signals. Mechanical stimulation is one of the current methods that produce cells with proper morphology and alignment in the scaffold. Specific differentiation، a higher rate of cell growth، proliferation and differentiation، and lower experiment costs can be achieved using mechanical stimulation. Different parameters such as the chemical environment، physical environment that surrounds the cell (including geometry، stiffness and topology of scaffold surface)، amplitude، frequency، and duration of mechanical stimulation can affect the stem cell fate. In this study we have investigated the impact of all types of mechanical stimulations under different loading regimes on the fate of stem cells with respect to the target tissue. The result has been reflected in the design of a proper bioreactor.