Surface curvature promotes coordinated extracellular matrix remodeling and mechanotransductive signaling during osteoblast adaptation

Curved substrates drive time-dependent transcriptional remodeling in murine MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblasts, shifting from immediate-early stress genes at day 7 to ECM and receptor signaling by day 23.

• Why it matters: Substrate curvature is a key mechanobiophysical cue, but the temporal gene programs by which 3D curvature shapes osteoblast adaptation remain unclear.
• What they did: MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured on 3D polydimethylsiloxane capillary bridges versus flat substrates for 7 and 23 days, using genome-wide transcriptomics plus pathway-focused analyses.
• The result: Curvature upregulated Egr1, Egr2, Fos, Junb, and Nr4a1 at day 7, and increased Ankrd1, Ereg, Serpine1, and Plaur by day 23, while Runx2, Cbfb, Osx/Sp7, and Atf4 changed only limitedly.

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