Substrate Curvature Restricts Spreading and Induces Differentiation of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells. Issue 9 (24th August 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lee, Sang Joo; Yang, Shengyuan
• Is Part Of: Biotechnology journal. Volume 12:Issue 9(2017)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2017-08-24
• Subjects: differentiation -- micro glass ball embedded gel -- stem cell -- substrate curvature -- three‐dimensional (3D) micromechanical environment; Biotechnology -- Periodicals; 660.605
• DOI: 10.1002/biot.201700360
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1860-6768

Abstract

Abstract : While cells attach, spread, migrate, proliferate, and differentiate in three‐dimensional (3D) micromechanical environments, the mechanical factors of these environments influence the shapes, sizes, and adhesion forces of the cells. Here, the authors culture human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) on a unique class of curvature‐defined substrates, micro glass ball embedded polyacrylamide gels, prepared with an improved protocol, and investigate the spreading responses of the hMSCs on the glass balls to study the effects of substrate curvature on the spreading of hMSCs. The authors find that, among the used diameters of glass balls, the minimum diameter of a glass ball on which an hMSC can attach and spread is 500 μm. In contrast to the well‐spread morphologies with randomly‐multiple lamellipodia for the hMSCs growing on the flat glass plates, the morphologies of the hMSCs growing on the glass balls are almost uniformly spindle‐shaped with two lamellipodia. The sensitivities of the attachment and spreading morphology of an hMSC to substrate curvature are very different from those of a fibroblast. The RT‐PCR analysis reveals that the substrate curvature alone can induce adipogenesis of the hMSCs. These findings imply that substrate curvature has profound effects on stem cell behaviors, and detailed and in‐depth studies on these effects and their underlying biophysical mechanisms are necessary. Abstract : The cellular responses to the curvature of a substrate are not well‐documented. In this study, the authors grow human stem cells on a unique class of curvature‐defined substrates, micro glass ball embedded gels, and demonstrate that the morphologies of the stem cells growing on the glass balls are almost uniformly spindle‐shaped, and substrate curvature alone can induce differentiation of the stem cells. These imply that the curvature of a substrate is an important parameter that can be utilized and tuned for cell and tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.