Substrate topography and size determine the fate of human embryonic stem cells to neuronal or glial lineage

Actomyosin contractility plays a role in MAP2 expression during nanotopography-directed neuronal differentiation of human embryonic stem cells

“…Human ESCs were subjected to direct neuronal differentiation using N2B27 media [1] on unpatterned polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates for seven days. Immunofluorescence staining of these cells revealed an increase in the expression of MAP2 (Microtubule associated protein 2), a marker for mature neurons, during the course of differentiation (Fig.…”

“…The arrangement, geometry, and size, of substrate features all contribute to this phenomenon [1,2]. Our previous work has shown that a greater number of mature neurons are derived from hESCs grown on anisotropically patterned substrates, such as gratings, compared to those grown on unpatterned or isotropic substrates.…”

Biomaterials control of pluripotent stem cell fate for regenerative therapy

“…Results showed that the nanogratings enabled the human ESCs to better differentiate into neurons, whereas the isotropic patterns drove them to differentiate more likely into glial cells (Fig. 5.9) [239]. The cells on the anisotropic substrates were able to adopt the aligned nanotopology, elongating along the gratings and expressing high levels of immature (Tuj-1) and mature (MAP-2) neuronal markers; however, those grown on the isotropic substrates contacted the surroundings more randomly, with higher extensions in different directions and thus higher level of spreading, and the behaviors could be transduced to increase the GFAP marker expression.…”

Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy measurements of MCF7 cells adhesion in confined micro-environments

“…The mechanisms of cell/surface interactions and effects thereof have been further explored in a variety of studies which all possess the merit of creating the ground of a new knowledge (sometimes underestimating the importance of accurate mathematical models). And thus: using anisotropic gratings in the sub micrometric range, in which the spacing of the gratings was varied over a significant range, Ferrari and co-workers demonstrated the nano-topographic control of neuronal polarity [11]; using either gratings and ordered arrays of pillars Ankam and colleagues proved how the size and spacing of these features would determine the fate of human embryonic stem cells to neuronal or glial lineage [12]; using a variety of different substrate preparations, ranging from islands of carbon nanotubes to posts, ridges or pillars, to randomly rough surfaces, research groups worldwide demonstrated independently that topographic cues at the nano-scale may direct, control and, in some cases, improve neuronal adhesion [13][14][15][16], growth [17], differentiation [18,19], organization or self-organization into simple to complex networks [20][21][22][23][24], electrical signaling [25]. In few cases, the adhesive behaviour of neuroblastoma N2A cells was verified over porous silicon with a fixed [26] or smoothly variable pore size [27].…”