Designing and Engineering Stem Cell Niches

Abstract

Stem cells have received a lot of attention due to great promises in medical treatment, for example, by replacing lost and sick cells and re-constituting cell populations. There are several classes of stem cells, including embryonic, fetal, and adult tissue specific. More recently, the generation of so-called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from differentiated cells has been established. Common criteria for all types of stem cells include their ability to self-renew and to retain their ability to differentiate in response to specific cues. These characteristics, as well as the instructive steering of the cells into differentiation, are largely dependent on the microenvironment surrounding the cells. Such “stem cell friendly” microenvironments, provided by structural and biochemical components, are often referred to as niches. Biomaterials offer attractive solutions to engineer functional stem cell niches and to steer stem cell state and fatein vitroas well asin vivo. Among materials used so far, promising results have been achieved with low-toxicity and biodegradable polymers, such as polyglycolic acid and related materials, as well as other polymers used as structural “scaffolds” for engineering of extracellular matrix components. To improve the efficiency of stem cell control and the design of the biomaterials, interfaces among stem cell research, developmental biology, regenerative medicine, chemical engineering, and materials research are rapidly developing. Here we provide an introduction to stem cell biology and principles of niche engineering and give an overview of recent advancements in stem cell niche engineering from two stem cell systems—blood and brain.

Recombinant spider silk matrices for neural stem cell cultures

“…The alternatives of 3D scaffolds for tissue engineering on the market are vast due to its physiological relevance (Pampaloni, Reynaud et al 2007;Dutta and Dutta 2009;Justice, Badr et al 2009). Its microenvironment can alter the cell phenotype by being a stimulus, effecting proliferation, viability and differentiation (Teixeira, Hermanson et al 2010;Wojcik-Stanaszek, Gregor et al 2011) due to changes in stiffness (Teixeira, Ilkhanizadeh et al 2009), mechanotransduction (Vogel 2006;Hoffman, Grashoff et al 2011) or material functionalization (Pashuck and Stevens 2012;Widhe, Johansson et al 2013). In a context dependent manner -cell type, tissue, and organism -we need to custom make cell-material interactions.…”

Recombinant spider silk protein matrices facilitate multi-analysis of calcium-signaling in neural stem cell-derived AMPA-responsive neurons

“…Yet few efforts have been made to optimize biocompatible materials for such cells to be expanded and used in clinical conditions. We have previously demonstrated that Several reports from recent years, including from our lab, have demonstrated how substrate characteristics such as stiffness and roughness, and incorporation of specific cell binding motifs influence the differentiation of various types of stem cells in a cell context-specific manner [1][2][3][4]. This is particularly important when addressing neural tissue modeling since threedimensional context of cell-cell interactions and cytoarchitecture is prohibited in conventional 2D cultures.…”

Spidroin-Based Biomaterials in Tissue Engineering: General Approaches and Potential Stem Cell Therapies

“…Over the past years, researchers have generated extensive evidence that biochemical cell-matrix interactions can improve cell survival and function. Many approaches, including chemical modification of the primary structure of spidroin, gene modification with cell-binding motifs, and the change of the material surface topographies, have been adapted to improve cell behaviors (e.g., cell attachment, proliferation, and differentiation) to scaffolds made of spider silk proteins [21][22][23][24]. Chemical coupling techniques rely on certain chemicals that are not always biocompatible with cells, and the efficiency of this nonspecific adhesion on in vitro culture is relatively low for some types of cells [25].…”