Supramolecular Nanofibers for Encapsulation and In Situ Differentiation of Neural Stem Cells. Issue 1 (20th November 2019) - Zhao, Hao
Abstract: Design and fabrication of fibrous materials by natural biological macromolecules in light of biomimetics to achieve spatially cellular arrangements are highly desirable in tissue engineering. Herein, chromatin‐inspired supramolecular fibers formed through the interfacial polyelectrolyte complexation (IPC) process by DNA and histone proteins for encapsulation and in situ differentiation of murine brain‐derived neural stem cells (NSCs) are reported. High cell viability of encapsulated NSCs demonstrates the excellent biocompatibility of fibers as 3D scaffolds. Moreover, a cell‐adhesive peptide (K6 ‐PEG‐RGD) is introduced into fibers by electrostatic interaction to improve NSCs encapsulation efficiency and prevent them from migrating out of fibers for enhanced spatially cellular arrangement. In situ differentiation of NSCs into oligodendrocytes within fibers is revealed by immunocytochemical staining assay. Due to the robust abilities to encapsulate and in situ differentiate NSCs, these chromatin‐inspired supramolecular fibers show great potential in neural system‐related tissue. Abstract : Chromatin‐inspired supramolecular nanofibers are developed through the interfacial polyelectrolyte complexation process using negatively charged DNA and positively charged histone proteins. They provide a biocompatible microenvironment for murine brain‐derived neural stem cells to survive and in situ differentiate into oligodendrocytes. The supramolecular fibers exhibit good potentials in neural system‐related tissue engineering, especially in stem cell‐based regenerative medicine.