Laperle Alex, Masters Kristyn S, Palecek Sean P
Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706.
Biotechnol Prog. 2015 Jan-Feb;31(1):212-9. doi: 10.1002/btpr.2001. Epub 2014 Oct 28.
Stem cells reside in specialized niches in vivo. Specific factors, including the extracellular matrix (ECM), in these niches are directly responsible for maintaining the stem cell population. During development, components of the stem cell microenvironment also control differentiation with precise spatial and temporal organization. The stem cell microenvironment is dynamically regulated by the cellular component, including stem cells themselves. Thus, a mechanism exists whereby stem cells modify the ECM, which in turn affects the fate of the stem cell. In this study, we investigated whether the type of ECM initially adsorbed to the culture substrate can influence the composition of the ECM deposited by human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) differentiating in embryoid bodies, and whether different ECM composition and deposition profiles elicit distinct differentiation fates. We have shown that the initial ECM environment hESCs are exposed to affects the fate decisions of those cells and that this initial ECM environment is constantly modified during the differentiation process.
干细胞在体内存在于特定的微环境中。这些微环境中的特定因子，包括细胞外基质（ECM），直接负责维持干细胞群体。在发育过程中，干细胞微环境的成分也通过精确的空间和时间组织来控制分化。干细胞微环境受到包括干细胞自身在内的细胞成分的动态调节。因此，存在一种机制，即干细胞修饰细胞外基质，而这反过来又影响干细胞的命运。在本研究中，我们调查了最初吸附到培养底物上的细胞外基质类型是否会影响在胚状体中分化的人类胚胎干细胞（hESCs）所沉积的细胞外基质的组成，以及不同的细胞外基质组成和沉积谱是否会引发不同的分化命运。我们已经表明，hESCs所接触的初始细胞外基质环境会影响这些细胞的命运决定，并且这种初始细胞外基质环境在分化过程中会不断被修饰。
