Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF/CCN2) and Connexin-43 (Cx43) expression are upregulated in human adipose-derived stromal cells (hASCs) over the course of osteogenic differentiation

Work is ongoing to shed light upon the role of mechanotransduction in the settings of skeletal development and bone healing. Of particular interest to our laboratory, harnessing an understanding of how externally applied forces may impact the differentiation of progenitor cells specifically hASCs in a pro-osteogenic fashion is of utmost importance. Possession of this knowledge will undoubtedly play a critical role in the development of cell-based skeletal tissue engineering strategies utilizing this multipotent progenitor population. As such, we have initiated a series of preliminary studies investigating the gene expression patterns of several proteins known to play a critical role in cell-cell communication in skeletal tissues over the course of osteogenic differentiation of hASCs.