MINI REVIEW article
Front. Cell Dev. Biol.
Sec. Cell Adhesion and Migration
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcell.2025.1707436
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvancing Bone and Soft Tissue Repair: Bioengineering from Cellular Insights to Clinical ApplicationsView all 6 articles
Bioelectric Cues from Piezoelectric Materials in Stem-Cell Adhesion and Migration
Provisionally accepted- 1Nutrition, Food Science and Technology Programme, School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China, Hong Kong, China
- 2West China Clinical Medical College of Sichuan University,Chengdu 610065,China, chengdu, China
- 3Trauma Medical Center, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China, chengdu, China
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Stem cell adhesion and migration are fundamental processes in tissue regeneration and repair; however, their efficiency in vivo is often limited by the complexity of the microenvironment. Endogenous bioelectrical cues, such as electric fields present during development and wound healing, play a critical role in guiding these cellular behaviors. Piezoelectric biomaterials, which can convert mechanical stimuli into electrical signals, have recently emerged as promising platforms for recapitulating these bioelectric cues without the need for external power sources. In this mini-review, 2 we summarize the recent advances in the use of piezoelectric scaffolds to modulate stem cell adhesion and migration. We highlight the underlying mechanisms, including integrin/focal adhesion kinase (FAK) activation, calcium signaling, and electrotaxis, which mediate enhanced adhesion, focal adhesion maturation, and directed cell migration. Representative applications in bone, cartilage, nerve, and muscle tissue engineering are discussed, with an emphasis on how piezoelectric scaffolds improve regeneration by providing dynamic and self-sustained electrical stimulation. Finally, we outline the major challenges, such as balancing piezoelectric output with biocompatibility, controlling in vivo stimulation parameters, and elucidating precise sensing mechanisms, and propose future directions for clinical translation. By integrating insights from materials science, mechanobiology, and regenerative medicine, piezoelectric biomaterials hold strong potential as next-generation smart scaffolds for orchestrating stem cell behavior and accelerating functional tissue repair.
Keywords: Piezoelectric biomaterials, Stem Cells, Cell Adhesion, cell migration, Tissue Regeneration, Bioelectric stimulation
Received: 17 Sep 2025; Accepted: 20 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chen, Su, Zhao and Deng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xiangtian Deng, wd15802828810@hotmail.com
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