Nano Medical Engineering Laboratory, RIKEN Advanced Science Institute, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-shi, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
J Biotechnol. 2013 Oct 20;168(2):218-28. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2013.04.021. Epub 2013 May 21.
Stem cells possess the ability to self-renew and differentiate into other cell types. In vivo, stem cells reside in their own anatomic niches in a defined physiological environment, from which they are released to differentiate into a required cell type when deemed appropriate. While a resident within the niche, the stem cell receives signals that in turn maintain the cell in a pluripotent state. In addition, the niche also provides nourishment to the cell. Physically, the niche also serves to anchor the cell via various ECM components and cell-adhesion molecules. Therefore, in vitro models that replicate the in vivo niche will lead to a better understanding of stem cell fate and turnover. In turn, this will help inform attempts to culture stem cells in vitro on artificial niche-like substrates. In this review, we have highlighted recent studies describing artificial niche-like substrates used to culture embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells in vitro.
干细胞具有自我更新和分化为其他细胞类型的能力。在体内，干细胞存在于其自身的解剖龛位中，处于特定的生理环境中，当被认为合适时，它们会从龛位中释放出来分化为所需的细胞类型。当干细胞位于龛位中时，它会接收到信号，从而将细胞维持在多能状态。此外，龛位还为细胞提供营养。从物理上讲，龛位还通过各种细胞外基质成分和细胞黏附分子来固定细胞。因此，复制体内龛位的体外模型将有助于更好地了解干细胞命运和更替。反过来，这将有助于告知在体外人工龛位样底物上培养干细胞的尝试。在这篇综述中，我们强调了最近描述用于体外培养胚胎干细胞和诱导多能干细胞的人工龛位样底物的研究。
