Arkenberg MR, Koehler K, Lin CC. Heparinized Gelatin-Based Hydrogels for Differentiation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.
Biomacromolecules 2022;
23:4141-4152. [PMID:
36074748 PMCID:
PMC9554908 DOI:
10.1021/acs.biomac.2c00585]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
![]()
Chemically defined
hydrogels are increasingly utilized to define
the effects of extracellular matrix (ECM) components on cellular fate
determination of human embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cell
(hESC and hiPSCs). In particular, hydrogels cross-linked by orthogonal
click chemistry, including thiol-norbornene photopolymerization and
inverse electron demand Diels–Alder (iEDDA) reactions, are
explored for 3D culture of hESC/hiPSCs owing to the specificity, efficiency,
cytocompatibility, and modularity of the cross-linking reactions.
In this work, we exploited the modularity of thiol-norbornene photopolymerization
to create a biomimetic hydrogel platform for 3D culture and differentiation
of hiPSCs. A cell-adhesive, protease-labile, and cross-linkable gelatin
derivative, gelatin-norbornene (GelNB), was used as the backbone polymer
for constructing hiPSC-laden biomimetic hydrogels. GelNB was further
heparinized via the iEDDA click reaction using tetrazine-modified
heparin (HepTz), creating GelNB-Hep. GelNB or GelNB-Hep was modularly
cross-linked with either inert macromer poly(ethylene glycol)-tetra-thiol
(PEG4SH) or another bioactive macromer-thiolated hyaluronic acid (THA).
The formulations of these hydrogels were modularly tuned to afford
biomimetic matrices with similar elastic moduli but varying bioactive
components, enabling the understanding of each bioactive component
on supporting hiPSC growth and ectodermal, mesodermal, and endodermal
fate commitment under identical soluble differentiation cues.
Collapse