Centre for Cell Engineering, Institute of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, Joseph Black Building, University of Glasgow , Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland, U.K.
Department of Pure & Applied Chemistry, WestCHEM , Thomas Graham Building, 295 Cathedral Street, Glasgow G1 1XL, Scotland, U.K.
ACS Nano. 2016 Jul 26;10(7):6667-79. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.6b01765. Epub 2016 Jun 27.
Out of their niche environment, adult stem cells, such as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), spontaneously differentiate. This makes both studying these important regenerative cells and growing large numbers of stem cells for clinical use challenging. Traditional cell culture techniques have fallen short of meeting this challenge, but materials science offers hope. In this study, we have used emerging rules of managing adhesion/cytoskeletal balance to prolong MSC cultures by fabricating controllable nanoscale cell interfaces using immobilized peptides that may be enzymatically activated to change their function. The surfaces can be altered (activated) at will to tip adhesion/cytoskeletal balance and initiate differentiation, hence better informing biological mechanisms of stem cell growth. Tools that are able to investigate the stem cell phenotype are important. While large phenotypical differences, such as the difference between an adipocyte and an osteoblast, are now better understood, the far more subtle differences between fibroblasts and MSCs are much harder to dissect. The development of technologies able to dynamically navigate small differences in adhesion are critical in the race to provide regenerative strategies using stem cells.
离开其特有的微环境，成体干细胞（如间充质干细胞（MSCs））会自发分化。这使得研究这些重要的再生细胞和大量培养干细胞用于临床应用都具有挑战性。传统的细胞培养技术未能应对这一挑战，但材料科学带来了希望。在这项研究中，我们利用新兴的管理黏附/细胞骨架平衡的规则，通过使用固定化肽来制造可控的纳米级细胞界面，从而延长 MSC 培养时间，这些肽可被酶激活以改变其功能。表面可以随意改变（激活），以改变黏附/细胞骨架平衡并启动分化，从而更好地了解干细胞生长的生物学机制。能够研究干细胞表型的工具非常重要。虽然现在对大的表型差异（如脂肪细胞和骨细胞之间的差异）有了更好的理解，但在成纤维细胞和 MSCs 之间的差异更微妙，更难剖析。开发能够动态导航微小黏附差异的技术对于利用干细胞提供再生策略至关重要。
