['Current tissue-engineered cartilage constructs contain insufficient amounts of collagen, whose function is to resist tension. We postulate that dynamic tension is necessary to stimulate collagen formation. Another shortcoming is that tissue-engineered cartilage does not possess native zonal variations. We hypothesize that applying depth-varying mechanical cues would stimulate extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis depth dependently. We developed a dedicated loading regime called sliding indentation, which enables us to apply dynamic tension as well as depth-varying strain fields to the chondrocyte-seeded agarose constructs.', 'In 2 study designs, we explored whether sliding indentation would increase collagen content and induce depth-varying ECM distribution.', 'In the first study, we developed an agarose-sandwich model that involves embedding of a thin chondrocyte-seeded 0.5% agarose layer between two cell-free 3% agarose layers. In the second study, 3-mm-thick chondrocyte-seeded agarose constructs were created. Sliding indentation at 10% depth and 1 Hz was applied to constructs in both studies for 4 h/day during 28 days, and unloaded constructs served as control.', 'Sliding indentation resulted in an increased amount of collagen in the produced cartilage layer. Further, sliding indentation for 7 days resulted in a depth-dependent response at gene expression levels, with the highest response in the regions that received highest strains. Analysis of protein expression after 28 days showed a similar depth-dependent distribution in all constructs, which further enhanced by sliding indentation.'] Does sliding indentation enhance collagen content and depth-dependent matrix distribution in tissue-engineered cartilage constructs?