Tissue Array Substratum Composed of Histological Sections: A New Platform for Orienting Differentiation of Embryonic Stem Cells Towards Hepatic Lineage

Heart extracellular matrix supports cardiomyocyte differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells

We have evaluated the effect of heart extracellular matrix (ECM) on the cardiomyocyte differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells (ES cells) using de-cellularized heart tissue. Several lines of evidence indicate that ECM plays significant roles in cell proliferation, cell death and differentiation, but role of ECM possessing a 3D structure in differentiation has not been studied in detail. We found that there are substantial differences in the quantitative protein profiles of ECM in SDS-treated heart tissue compared to that of liver tissue, as assessed by iTRAQ™ quantitative proteomics analysis. When mouse ES cells were cultured on thin (60 μm) sections of de-cellularized tissue, the expression of cardiac myosin heavy chain (cMHC) and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) was high in ES cells cultured on heart ECM compared with those cultured on liver ECM. In addition, the protein expression of cMHC and cTnI was detected in cells on heart ECM after 2 weeks, which was not detectable in cells on liver ECM. These results indicate that heart ECM plays a critical role in the cardiomyocyte differentiation of ES cells. We propose that tissue-specific ECM induced cell lineage specification through mechano-transduction mediated by the structure, elasticity and components of ECM.

Development of stepwise osteogenesis-mimicking matrices for the regulation of mesenchymal stem cell functions

An extracellular microenvironment, including an extracellular matrix (ECM), is an important factor in regulating stem cell differentiation. During tissue development, the ECM is dynamically remodeled to regulate stem cell functions. Here, we developed matrices mimicking ECM remodeling during the osteogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The matrices were prepared from cultured MSCs controlled at different stages of osteogenesis and referred to as "stepwise osteogenesis-mimicking matrices." The matrices supported the adhesion and proliferation of MSCs and showed different effects on the osteogenesis of MSCs. On the matrices mimicking the early stage of osteogenesis (early stage matrices), the osteogenesis occurred more rapidly than did that on the matrices mimicking undifferentiated stem cells (stem cell matrices) and the late stage of osteogenesis (late stage matrices). RUNX2 was similarly expressed when MSCs were cultured on both the early stage and late stage matrices but decreased on the stem cell matrices. PPARG expression in the MSCs cultured on the late stage matrices was higher than for those cultured on the stem cell and early stage matrices. This increase of PPARG expression was caused by the suppression of the amount of beta-catenin and downstream signal transduction. These results demonstrate that the osteogenesis-mimicking matrices had different effects on the osteogenesis of MSCs, and the early stage matrices provided a favorable microenvironment for the osteogenesis.