Han Yilin, Baltriukienė Daiva, Kozlova Elena N
Department of Neuroscience, Uppsala University, Biomedical Centre, Uppsala, Sweden.
Institute of Biochemistry, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
J Biomed Mater Res A. 2020 Jun;108(6):1274-1280. doi: 10.1002/jbm.a.36900. Epub 2020 Feb 21.
Optimal combination of stem cells and biocompatible support material is a promising strategy for successful tissue engineering. The required differentiation of stem cells is crucial for functionality of engineered tissues and can be regulated by chemical and physical cues. Here we examined how boundary cap neural crest stem cells (bNCSCs) are affected when cultured in the same medium, but on collagen- or laminin-polyacrylamide (PAA) scaffolds of different stiffness (0.5, 1, or ~7 kPa). bNCSCs displayed marked differences in their ability to attach, maintain a large cell population and differentiate, depending on scaffold stiffness. These findings show that the design of physical cues is an important parameter to achieve optimal stem cell properties for tissue repair and engineering.
