Department of Orthodontics, West China Hospital of Stomatology, West China School of Stomatology, State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
J Cell Physiol. 2021 Apr;236(4):2268-2275. doi: 10.1002/jcp.30042. Epub 2020 Sep 4.
For stem cell research, three-dimensional (3D) hydrogels are increasingly recognized as more physiological systems than two-dimensional culture plates due to bidirectional and 3D interaction of stem cells and surrounding matrix. Among various stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are one of the most widely applied from bench to bedside. In 3D hydrogels, MSCs are allowed to actively remodel the surrounding matrix through proteolytic degradation and cell-exerted force, which highly resembles in vivo situation. Notably, factors affecting hydrogel modifiability including matrix viscoelasticity and matrix degradability have been found to regulate adhesion, morphology, and fate decision of MSCs. In addition, MSCs within 3D hydrogels have been found to employ multiple mechanotransduction mechanisms including not only the classic integrin-actomyosin cytoskeleton system but also ion channels, microtubule cytoskeleton, and self-secreted proteinaceous matrix. This review summarizes the effects of biophysical cues on MSCs differentiation in 3D hydrogels and underlying mechanobiology in a hope to update our readers' understanding of stem cell biology and guide tissue engineering.
对于干细胞研究，由于干细胞与周围基质的双向和 3D 相互作用，三维（3D）水凝胶越来越被认为是比二维培养板更具生理意义的系统。在各种干细胞中，间充质干细胞（MSCs）是从实验室到临床应用最广泛的一种。在 3D 水凝胶中，MSCs 可以通过蛋白水解降解和细胞施加的力主动重塑周围基质，这非常类似于体内情况。值得注意的是，影响水凝胶可修饰性的因素包括基质粘弹性和基质降解性，这些因素已被发现可调节 MSCs 的黏附、形态和命运决定。此外，在 3D 水凝胶中的 MSCs 已被发现采用多种机械转导机制，不仅包括经典的整联蛋白-肌动球蛋白细胞骨架系统，还包括离子通道、微管细胞骨架和自分泌蛋白基质。本综述总结了生物物理线索对 3D 水凝胶中 MSCs 分化的影响及其潜在的机械生物学机制，希望能更新读者对干细胞生物学的理解，并指导组织工程学的发展。
