Activation of multiple signaling pathways during the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells cultured in a silicon nanowire microenvironment

Mechanical stimuli generated from SiNW array microenvironment are sensed by a variety of receptors including Integrin, TGF-β/BMP, Akt, MAPK, and Insulin signaling pathway. These in turn activate the downstream MAPK signaling pathways, resulting in increased expression of osteogenesis and chondrogenesis genes in MSCs. However, the absence of Wnt signal led to the formation of β-catenin /APC/Axin/GSK3 complex, and the phosphorylated β-catenin is targeted to degradation, indicating a less significant role in regulating the osteogenesis and chondrogenesis of MSCs cultured on SiNW arrays.225