Hofmeister LH, Costa L, Balikov DA, Crowder SW, Terekhov A, Sung HJ, Hofmeister WH. Patterned polymer matrix promotes stemness and cell-cell interaction of adult stem cells.
J Biol Eng 2015;
9:18. [PMID:
26464581 PMCID:
PMC4603908 DOI:
10.1186/s13036-015-0016-x]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2015] [Accepted: 09/21/2015] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Background
The interaction of stem cells with their culture substrates is critical in controlling their fate and function. Declining stemness of adult-derived human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) during in vitro expansion on tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS) severely limits their therapeutic efficacy prior to cell transplantation into damaged tissues. Thus, various formats of natural and synthetic materials have been manipulated in attempts to reproduce in vivo matrix environments in which hMSCs reside.
Results
We developed a series of patterned polymer matrices for cell culture by hot-pressing poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) films in femtosecond laser-ablated nanopore molds, forming nanofibers on flat PCL substrates. hMSCs cultured on these PCL fiber matrices significantly increased expression of critical self-renewal factors, Nanog and OCT4A, as well as markers of cell-cell interaction PECAM and ITGA2. The results suggest the patterned polymer fiber matrix is a promising model to maintain the stemness of adult hMSCs.
Conclusion
This approach meets the need for scalable, highly repeatable, and tuneable models that mimic extracellular matrix features that signal for maintenance of hMSC stemness.
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