Substrate elasticity induces quiescence and promotes neurogenesis of primary neural stem cells-A biophysical in vitro model of the physiological cerebral milieu

Single-cell transcriptomics reveals neural stem cell trans-differentiation and cell subpopulations in whole heart decellularized extracellular matrix

The whole heart decellularized extracellular matrix (ECM) has become a promising scaffold material for cardiac tissue engineering. Our previous research has shown that the whole heart acellular matrix possesses the memory function regulating neural stem cells (NSCs) trans-differentiating to cardiac lineage cells. However, the cell subpopulations and phenotypes in the trans-differentiation of NSCs have not been clearly identified. Here, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing and identified 2,765 cells in the recellularized heart with NSCs revealing the cellular diversity of cardiac and neural lineage, confirming NSCs were capable of trans-differentiating into the cardiac lineage while maintaining the original ability to differentiate into the neural lineage. Notably, the trans-differentiated heart-like cells have dual signatures of neuroectoderm and cardiac mesoderm. This study unveils an in-depth mechanism underlying the trans-differentiation of NSCs and provides a new opportunity and theoretical basis for cardiac regeneration.

Zwitterionic Conductive Hydrogel-Based Nerve Guidance Conduit Promotes Peripheral Nerve Regeneration in Rats

In recent years, conductive biomaterials have been widely used to enhance peripheral nerve regeneration. However, most biomaterials use electronic conductors to increase the conductivity of materials. As information carriers, electronic conductors always transmit discontinuous electrical signals, while biological systems essentially transmit continuous signals through ions. Herein, an ion-based conductive hydrogel was fabricated by simple copolymerization of the zwitterionic monomer sulfobetin methacrylate and hydroxyethyl methacrylate. Benefiting from the excellent mechanical stability, suitable electrical conductivity, and good cytocompatibility of the zwitterionic hydrogel, the Schwann cells cultured on the hydrogel could grow and proliferate better, and dorsal root ganglian had an increased neurite length. The zwitterionic hydrogel-based nerve guidance conduits were then implanted into a 10 mm sciatic nerve defect model in rats. Morphological analysis and electrophysiological data showed that the grafts achieved a regeneration effect close to that of the autologous nerve. Overall, our developed zwitterionic hydrogel facilitates efficient and efficacious peripheral nerve regeneration by mimicking the electrical and mechanical properties of the extracellular matrix and creating a suitable regeneration microenvironment, providing a new material reserve for the repair of peripheral nerve injury.

Encapsulation of Human Spinal Cord Progenitor Cells in Hyaluronan-Gelatin Hydrogel for Spinal Cord Injury Treatment

Transplanting human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)-derived spinal cord progenitor cells (SCPCs) is a promising approach to treat spinal cord injuries. However, stem cell therapies face challenges in cell survival, cell localization to the targeted site, and the control of cell differentiation. Here, we encapsulated SCPCs in thiol-modified hyaluronan-gelatin hydrogels and optimized scaffold mechanical properties and cell encapsulation density to promote cell viability and neuronal differentiation in vitro and in vivo. Different compositions of hyaluronan-gelatin hydrogels formulated by varying concentrations of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate were mechanically characterized by using atomic force microscopy. In vitro SCPC encapsulation study showed higher cell viability and proliferation with lower substrate Young's modulus (200 Pa vs 580 Pa) and cell density. Moreover, the soft hydrogels facilitated a higher degree of neuronal differentiation with extended filament structures in contrast to clumped cellular morphologies obtained in stiff hydrogels (p < 0.01). When transplanted in vivo, the optimized SCPC-encapsulated hydrogels resulted in higher cell survival and localization at the transplanted region as compared to cell delivery without hydrogel encapsulation at 2 weeks postimplantation within the rat spinal cord (p < 0.01). Notably, immunostaining demonstrated that the hydrogel-encapsulated SCPCs differentiated along the neuronal and oligodendroglial lineages in vivo. The lack of pluripotency and proliferation also supported the safety of the SCPC transplantation approach. Overall, the injectable hyaluronan-gelatin hydrogel shows promise in supporting the survival and neural differentiation of human SCPCs after transplantation into the spinal cord.

Extrapolating neurogenesis of mesenchymal stem/stromal cells on electroactive and electroconductive scaffolds to dental and oral-derived stem cells

The high neurogenic potential of dental and oral-derived stem cells due to their embryonic neural crest origin, coupled with their ready accessibility and easy isolation from clinical waste, make these ideal cell sources for neuroregeneration therapy. Nevertheless, these cells also have high propensity to differentiate into the osteo-odontogenic lineage. One strategy to enhance neurogenesis of these cells may be to recapitulate the natural physiological electrical microenvironment of neural tissues via electroactive or electroconductive tissue engineering scaffolds. Nevertheless, to date, there had been hardly any such studies on these cells. Most relevant scientific information comes from neurogenesis of other mesenchymal stem/stromal cell lineages (particularly bone marrow and adipose tissue) cultured on electroactive and electroconductive scaffolds, which will therefore be the focus of this review. Although there are larger number of similar studies on neural cell lines (i.e. PC12), neural stem/progenitor cells, and pluripotent stem cells, the scientific data from such studies are much less relevant and less translatable to dental and oral-derived stem cells, which are of the mesenchymal lineage. Much extrapolation work is needed to validate that electroactive and electroconductive scaffolds can indeed promote neurogenesis of dental and oral-derived stem cells, which would thus facilitate clinical applications in neuroregeneration therapy.

Mechanical Stress Induces a Transient Suppression of Cytokine Secretion in Astrocytes Assessed at the Single-Cell Level with a High-Throughput Microfluidic Chip

Brain cells are constantly subjected to mechanical signals. Astrocytes are the most abundant glial cells of the central nervous system (CNS), which display immunoreactivity and have been suggested as an emerging disease focus in the recent years. However, how mechanical signals regulate astrocyte immunoreactivity, and the cytokine release in particular, remains to be fully characterized. Here, human neural stem cells are used to induce astrocytes, from which the release of 15 types of cytokines are screened, and nine of them are detected using a protein microfluidic chip. When a gentle compressive force is applied, altered cell morphology and reinforced cytoskeleton are observed. The force induces a transient suppression of cytokine secretions including IL-6, MCP-1, and IL-8 in the early astrocytes. Further, using a multiplexed single-cell culture and protein detection microfluidic chip, the mechanical effects at a single-cell level are analyzed, which validates a concerted downregulation by force on IL-6 and MCP-1 secretions in the cells releasing both factors. This work demonstrates an original attempt of employing the protein detection microfluidic chips in the assessment of mechanical regulation on the brain cells at a single-cell resolution, offering novel approach and unique insights for the understanding of the CNS immune regulation.

Physical Cues of Matrices Reeducate Nerve Cells

The behavior of nerve cells plays a crucial role in nerve regeneration. The mechanical, topographical, and electrical microenvironment surrounding nerve cells can activate cellular signaling pathways of mechanical transduction to affect the behavior of nerve cells. Recently, biological scaffolds with various physical properties have been developed as extracellular matrix to regulate the behavior conversion of nerve cell, such as neuronal neurite growth and directional differentiation of neural stem cells, providing a robust driving force for nerve regeneration. This review mainly focused on the biological basis of nerve cells in mechanical transduction. In addition, we also highlighted the effect of the physical cues, including stiffness, mechanical tension, two-dimensional terrain, and electrical conductivity, on neurite outgrowth and differentiation of neural stem cells and predicted their potential application in clinical nerve tissue engineering.

NSCs Under Strain-Unraveling the Mechanoprotective Role of Differentiating Astrocytes in a Cyclically Stretched Coculture With Differentiating Neurons

The neural stem cell (NSC) niche is a highly vascularized microenvironment that supplies stem cells with relevant biological and chemical cues. However, the NSCs’ proximity to the vasculature also means that the NSCs are subjected to permanent tissue deformation effected by the vessels’ heartbeat-induced pulsatile movements. Cultivating NSCs under common culture conditions neglects the—yet unknown—influence of this cyclic mechanical strain on neural stem cells. Under the hypothesis that pulsatile strain should affect essential NSC functions, a cyclic uniaxial strain was applied under biomimetic conditions using an in-house developed stretching system based on cross-linked polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer. While lineage commitment remained unaffected by cyclic deformation, strain affected NSC quiescence and cytoskeletal organization. Unexpectedly, cyclically stretched stem cells aligned in stretch direction, a phenomenon unknown for other types of cells in the mammalian organism. The same effect was observed for young astrocytes differentiating from NSCs. In contrast, young neurons differentiating from NSCs did not show mechanoresponsiveness. The exceptional orientation of NSCs and young astrocytes in the stretch direction was blocked upon RhoA activation and went along with a lack of stress fibers. Compared to postnatal astrocytes and mature neurons, NSCs and their young progeny displayed characteristic and distinct mechanoresponsiveness. Data suggest a protective role of young astrocytes in mixed cultures of differentiating neurons and astrocytes by mitigating the mechanical stress of pulsatile strain on developing neurons.

Substrate Elasticity Exerts Functional Effects on Primary Microglia

Microglia-the brain's primary immune cells-exert a tightly regulated cascade of pro- and anti-inflammatory effects upon brain pathology, either promoting regeneration or neurodegeneration. Therefore, harnessing microglia emerges as a potential therapeutic concept in neurological research. Recent studies suggest that-besides being affected by chemokines and cytokines-various cell entities in the brain relevantly respond to the mechanical properties of their microenvironment. For example, we lately reported considerable effects of elasticity on neural stem cells, regarding quiescence and differentiation potential. However, the effects of elasticity on microglia remain to be explored.Under the hypothesis that the elasticity of the microenvironment affects key characteristics and functions of microglia, we established an in vitro model of primary rat microglia grown in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer-based cell culture system. This way, we simulated the brain's physiological elasticity range and compared it to supraphysiological stiffer PDMS controls. We assessed functional parameters of microglia under "resting" conditions, as well as when polarized towards a pro-inflammatory phenotype (M1) by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), or an anti-inflammatory phenotype (M2) by interleukin-4 (IL-4). Microglia viability was unimpaired on soft substrates, but we found various significant effects with a more than two-fold increase in microglia proliferation on soft substrate elasticities mimicking the brain (relative to PDMS controls). Furthermore, soft substrates promoted the expression of the activation marker vimentin in microglia. Moreover, the M2-marker CD206 was upregulated in parallel to an increase in the secretion of Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1). The upregulation of CD206 was abolished by blockage of stretch-dependent chloride channels. Our data suggest that the cultivation of microglia on substrates of brain-like elasticity promotes a basic anti-inflammatory activation state via stretch-dependent chloride channels. The results highlight the significance of the omnipresent but mostly overlooked mechanobiological effects exerted on microglia and contribute to a better understanding of the complex spatial and temporal interactions between microglia, neural stem cells, and glia, in health and disease.

In Vitro Monolayer Culture of Dispersed Neural Stem Cells on the E-Cadherin-Based Substrate with Long-Term Stemness Maintenance

Neural stem cells (NSCs) play an important role in neural tissue engineering because of their capacity of self-renewal and differentiation to multiple cell lineages. The in vitro conventional neurosphere culture protocol has some limitations such as limited nutrition and oxygen penetration and distribution causing the heterogeneity of cells inside, inaccessibility of internal cells, and inhomogeneous cellular morphology and properties. As a result, cultivation as a monolayer is a better way to study NSCs and obtain a homogeneous cell population. The cadherins are a classical family of homophilic cell adhesion molecules mediating cell-cell adhesion. Here, we used a recombinant human E-cadherin mouse IgG Fc chimera protein that self-assembles on a hydrophobic polystyrene surface via hydrophobic interaction to obtain an E-cadherin-coated culture plate (ECP). The rat fetal NSCs were cultured on the ECP and routine tissue culture plate (TCP) from passage 2 to passage 5. NSCs on TCP formed uniform floating neurospheres and grew up over time, while cells on the ECP adhered on the bottom of the plate and exhibited individual cells with scattering morphology, forming intercellular connections between cells. The cell proliferation and differentiation behaviors that were evaluated by Cell Counting Kit-8 assay (CCK-8), immunofluorescence staining, and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction showed NSCs could maintain the capacity for self-renewal and ability to differentiate into neurons, oligodendrocytes, and astrocytes after the long-term in vitro cell culture and passaging. Therefore, our study indicated that hE-cad-Fc could provide a homogeneous environment for individual cells in monolayer conditions to maintain the capacity of self-renewal and differentiation by mimicking the cell-cell interaction.