Acceleration of neuronal precursors differentiation induced by substrate nanotopography

Abstract

Embryonic stem (ES) cell differentiation in specific cell lineages is a major issue in cell biology particularly in regenerative medicine. Differentiation is usually achieved by using biochemical factors and it is not clear whether mechanical properties of the substrate over which cells are grown can affect proliferation and differentiation. Therefore, we produced patterns in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) consisting of groove and pillar arrays of sub-micrometric lateral resolution as substrates for cell cultures. We analyzed the effect of different nanostructures on differentiation of ES-derived neuronal precursors into neuronal lineage without adding biochemical factors. Neuronal precursors adhered on PDMS more effectively than on glass coverslips. We demonstrated that neuronal yield was enhanced by increasing pillars height from 35 to 400 nm. On higher pillar neuronal differentiation reaches ∼80% 96 h after plating and the largest differentiation enhancement of pillars over flat PDMS was observed during the first 6 h of culture. We conclude that PDMS nanopillars accelerate and increase neuronal differentiation.

Differential regulation of stiffness, topography, and dimension of substrates in rat mesenchymal stem cells

“…The dimension (depth) and stiffness were found to highly co-regulate the spreading of human umbilical vein endothelial cells on round pillars of silica or PDMS [60] or the spreading of bovine aortic endothelial cells on grooves of PA [53], whereas our data indicated that topography is more predominant than stiffness and dimension (width) in rBMSC spreading (area). Another example is that the rat Schwann cell precursor line is most likely aligned in the narrowest and deepest grooves and differentiate toward early Schwann cells on stiffer, narrower grooves [44], whereas the main body of evidence [5,46,47,51,61,62], including ours here, support that MSCs are in favor of a soft substrate to differentiate into neuronal cells. Thus, caution should be taken when the predominance of regulating factors is applied into other types and/or dimensions of topographical substrates because the importance of each regulating factor depends on the cell types, material properties, as well as mechanotransductive signaling, which will be investigated in future studies.…”

Enhanced Neurogenic Biomarker Expression and Reinnervation in Human Acute Skin Wounds Treated by Electrical Stimulation

“…Several studies have provided insights into mechanisms promoting accelerated neural differentiation and tissue regeneration (33,34). In complimentary clinical and experimental studies, documented imbalances of neuromediators found in denervated tissue are associated with conditions where delayed wound healing is common.…”

A nanoporous surface is essential for glomerular podocyte differentiation in three-dimensional culture

“…1,2 For instance, cultured neurons have been tested on different nanosurfaces by several investigators. 3,4 Structured materials which facilitate dendrite development, adhesion, and signaling may promote better understanding of neuronal repair from pathological conditions and present novel therapeutic strategies. 5,6 Another example of the ramified cell is the glomerular podocyte.…”