Development of a bioactive microencapsulation platform incorporating decellularized extracellular matrix to entrap human induced pluripotent stem cells for versatile biomedical applications

Abstract

Human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) hold great promise in the fields of regenerative therapy and personalized in vitro tissue models as they provide an almost endless autologous source of virtually any cell type. Their potential benefits can be highly enhanced through polymeric cell microencapsulation, which offers the cells structural support and immune protection from the host tissue. However, in contrast to biologically-inert polymers, decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM)-based microencapsulation also provides the cells a physiologically mimetic bioactive microenvironment while providing reproducibility and scalability. Here we describe the entrapment of hiPSCs in a porcine pancreatic ECM (pECM)-based microencapsulation platform and address its key aspects. To promote high levels of cell survival and