Stem Cell and Nanotopography Interactions
Understanding the effects of sterilization on GelMA hydrogels for translational tissue engineering applications. How do nano-scale surface features change cell behaviour and cell fate? How can we control the fate of a cell with topographical cues? We aim to obtain an understanding of the underlying mechanisms of topography-induced cell behaviour by studying changes in focal adhesion formation and the synergistic effects of nanotopography, biochemicals, and substrate stiffness in directing stem cell differentiation.
Effect of sterilization on GelMA hydrogels
Fucoidan Functionalization on Poly(vinyl alcohol) Hydrogels for Improved Endothelialization and Hemocompatibility
Fucoidan modification significantly improved endothelial cell adhesion on PVA. Nanotopography showed significant influence on human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) and human pluripotent stem cell behavior. Our studies showed that hMSC aligned and elongated along the axis of the gratings. Expression of neuronal markers and upregulation of neuronal gene marker were detected. We have also shown that the influence of nanotopography on proliferation and differentiation is more significant compared to micro-topography. Nanotopographical cues can be incorporated into neural tissue engineering scaffold design, serving both as a differentiation cue and conduct guidance for axon regeneration.
Applications of Nanotopography in Neuronal Regeneration
Description: Comparison of the maturation of induced pluripotent -derived human neural progenitor cells from a patient with Rett Syndrome (RTT) and an isogenic control (CTRL) after 21 days of growth on a graphene scaffold. The cells were either electrically stimulated with 2 mA (eRTT and eCTRL) or not stimulated (RTT and CTRL). The images were captured using confocal immunofluorescence with the markers Beta-Tubulin III (TUJ1), Microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2), and 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI). TUJ1 indicates the percentage of cells that committed to the neuronal lineage. MAP2 indicates the percentage of mature neurons. DAPI is used to identify cells. Image analysis showed that electrical stimulation helped to improve the maturation rate of both CTRL and RTT cells.
Contact guidance has been shown to play a major role in many neural processes. Thus, there is interest in developing technologies that mimic the biophysics of the native neural extracellular matrix to help enhance neuronal processes on synthetic platforms. Of interest is neuronal differentiation, which has many important applications including the development of cell-based therapies for the treatment of neurological diseases, neuronal regeneration, fundamental neurological studies, and drug-screening, disease modelling and precision medicine platforms. Our lab has shown that biophysical cues such as stiffness, topography and electrical stimulation can be incorporate into scaffolds and used a neuronal differentiation cues for pluripotent stem cells (PSC), neural stem cells (NSC), and mesenchymal stem cells. On these platforms’ upregulation of neuronal genes and markers occurred, and cells changed to a neuronal morphology. The platforms have also been shown to promote contact guidance for axon regeneration.
Vascular Repair with a Combination of Nanotopography and Stem Cells
- Engineering vascular grafts for vascular replacement and
- Vascular repair using stem cells.
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