Biomaterials that mimic aspects of the extracellular matrix by presenting a 3D microenvironment that cells can locally degrade and remodel are finding increased applications as wound-healing matrices, tissue engineering scaffolds, and even substrates for stem cell expansion. In vivo, cells do not simply reside in a static microenvironment, but instead, they dynamically reengineer their surroundings. For example, cells secrete proteases that degrade extracellular components, attach to the matrix through adhesive sites, and can exert traction forces on the local matrix, causing its spatial reorganization. Although biomaterials scaffolds provide initially well-defined microenvironments for 3D culture of cells, less is known about the changes that occur over time, especially local matrix remodeling that can play an integral role in directing cell behavior. Here, we use microrheology as a quantitative tool to characterize dynamic cellular remodeling of peptide-functionalized poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogels that degrade in response to cell-secreted matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). This technique allows measurement of spatial changes in material properties during migration of encapsulated cells and has a sensitivity that identifies regions where cells simply adhere to the matrix, as well as the extent of local cell remodeling of the material through MMP-mediated degradation. Collectively, these microrheological measurements provide insight into microscopic, cellular manipulation of the pericellular region that gives rise to macroscopic tracks created in scaffolds by migrating cells. This quantitative and predictable information should benefit the design of improved biomaterial scaffolds for medically relevant applications.PEG-peptide hydrogels | human mesenchymal stem cells | cell migration | microrheology

Human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) migration and recruitment play a critical role during bone fracture healing. Within the complex 3D in vivo microenvironment, hMSC migration is regulated through a myriad of extracellular cues. Here, we use a thiol-ene photopolymerized hydrogel to recapitulate structural and bioactive inputs in a tunable manner to understand their role in regulating 3D hMSC migration. Specifically, peptide-functionalized poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogels were used to encapsulate hMSC while varying the crosslinking density, 0.18 ± 0.02 - 1.60 ± 0.04 mM, and the adhesive ligand density, 0.001 to 1.0 mM. Using live cell videomicroscopy migratory cell paths were tracked and fit to a persistent random walk model. It was shown that hMSC migrating through the lowest crosslinking density and highest adhesivity had more sustained polarization, higher migrating speeds (17.6 ± 0.9 μm/hr), and higher cell spreading (Elliptical Form Factor = 3.9 ± 0.2). However, manipulation of these material properties did not significantly affect migration persistence. Further, there was a monotonic increase in cell speed and spreading with increasing adhesivity showing a lack of the biphasic trend seen in two dimensional cell migration. Immunohistochemistry showed well-formed actin fibers and β1 integrin staining at the ends of stress fibers. This thiol-ene platform provides a highly tunable substrate to characterize 3D hMSC migration with application as an implantable cell carrier platform or for the recruitment of endogenous hMSC in vivo.

There is a growing appreciation for the functional role of matrix mechanics in regulating stem cell self-renewal and differentiation processes. However, it is largely unknown how subcellular, spatial mechanical variations in the local extracellular environment mediate intracellular signal transduction and direct cell fate. Here, the effect of spatial distribution, magnitude, and organization of subcellular matrix mechanical properties on human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSCs) function was investigated. Exploiting a photodegradation reaction, a hydrogel cell culture substrate was fabricated with regions of spatially varied and distinct mechanical properties, which were subsequently mapped and quantified by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The variations in the underlying matrix mechanics were found to regulate cellular adhesion and transcriptional events. Highly spread, elongated morphologies and higher Yes-associated protein (YAP) activation were observed in hMSCs seeded on hydrogels with higher concentrations of stiff regions in a dose-dependent manner. However, when the spatial organization of the mechanically stiff regions was altered from a regular to randomized pattern, lower levels of YAP activation with smaller and more rounded cell morphologies were induced in hMSCs. We infer from these results that irregular, disorganized variations in matrix mechanics, compared with regular patterns, appear to disrupt actin organization, and lead to different cell fates; this was verified by observations of lower alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and higher expression of CD105, a stem cell marker, in hMSCs in random versus regular patterns of mechanical properties. Collectively, this material platform has allowed innovative experiments to elucidate a novel spatial mechanical dosing mechanism that correlates to both the magnitude and organization of spatial stiffness.photodegradable hydrogel | human mesenchymal stem cell | spatial matrix stiffness

Cells reside in a complex and dynamic extracellular matrix where they interact with a myriad of biophysical and biochemical cues that direct their function and regulate tissue homeostasis, wound repair, and even pathophysiological events. There is a desire in the biomaterials community to develop synthetic hydrogels to recapitulate facets of the ECM for in vitro culture platforms and tissue engineering applications. Advances in synthetic hydrogel design and chemistries, including user-tunable platforms, have broadened the field’s understanding of the role of matrix cues in directing cellular processes and enabled the design of improved tissue engineering scaffolds. This review focuses on recent advances in the development and fabrication of hydrogels and discusses what aspects of ECM signals can be incorporated to direct cell function in different contexts.

A covalently adaptable hydrazone-crosslinked PEG hydrogel is used to measure the force of extension exerted by motor neurites.

Hydrogels with photocleavable units incorporated into the cross-links have provided researchers with the ability to control mechanical properties temporally and study the role of matrix signaling on stem cell function and fate. With a growing interest in dynamically tunable cell culture systems, methods to synthesize photolabile hydrogels from simple precursors would facilitate broader accessibility. Here, a step-growth photodegradable poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogel system cross-linked through a strain promoted alkyne-azide cycloaddition (SPAAC) reaction and degraded through the cleavage of a nitrobenzyl ether moiety integrated into the cross-links is developed from commercially available precursors in three straightforward synthetic steps with high yields (>95%). The network evolution and degradation properties are characterized in response to one-and two-photon irradiation. The PEG hydrogel is employed to encapsulate embryonic stem cell-derived motor neurons (ESMNs), and in situ degradation is exploited to gain three-dimensional control over the extension of motor axons using two-photon infrared light. Finally, ESMNs and their in vivo synaptic partners, myotubes, are coencapsulated, and the formation of user-directed neural networks is demonstrated.

Drug releasing shape memory polymers (SMPs) were prepared from poly(thiourethane) networks that were coated with drug loaded nanogels through a UV initiated, surface mediated crosslinking reaction. Multifunctional thiol and isocyanate monomers were crosslinked through a step-growth mechanism to produce polymers with a homogeneous network structure that exhibited a sharp glass transition with 97% strain recovery and 96% shape fixity. Incorporating a small stoichiometric excess of thiol groups left pendant functionality for a surface coating reaction. Nanogels with diameter of approximately 10 nm bearing allyl and methacrylate groups were prepared separately via solution free radical polymerization. Coatings with thickness of 10–30 μm were formed via dip-coating and subsequent UV-initiated thiol-ene crosslinking between the SMP surface and the nanogel, and through inter-nanogel methacrylate homopolymerization. No significant change in mechanical properties or shape memory behavior was observed after the coating process, indicating that functional coatings can be integrated into an SMP without altering its original performance. Drug bioactivity was confirmed via in vitro culturing of human mesenchymal stem cells with SMPs coated with dexamethasone-loaded nanogels. This article offers a new strategy to independently tune multiple functions on a single polymeric device, and has broad application toward implantable, minimally invasive medical devices such as vascular stents and ocular shunts, where local drug release can greatly prolong device function.