The Influence of Piezoelectric Scaffolds on Neural Differentiation of Human Neural Stem/Progenitor Cells

Abstract

Human neural stem/progenitor cells (hNSCs/NPCs) are a promising cell source for neural tissue engineering because of their ability to differentiate into various neural lineages. In this study, hNSC/NPC differentiation was evaluated on piezoelectric, fibrous scaffolds. These smart materials have an intrinsic material property where transient electric potential can be generated in the material upon minute mechanical deformation. hNSCs/NPCs cultured on the scaffolds and films differentiated into β-III tubulin-positive cells, a neuronal cell marker, with or without the presence of inductive factors. In contrast, hNSCs/NPCs cultured on laminin-coated plates were predominantly nestin positive, a NSC marker, in the control medium. Gene expression results suggest that the scaffolds may have promoted the formation of mature neural cells exhibiting neuron-like characteristics. hNSCs/NPCs differentiated mostly into β-III tubulin-positive cells and had the greatest average neurite length on micron-sized, annealed (more piezoelectric), aligned scaffolds, demonstrating their potential for neural tissue-engineering applications.

Crystalline polymorphism in poly(vinylidenefluoride) membranes

“…Indeed, electrically charged surfaces can influence different aspects of cell behavior such as growth, adhesion, or the morphologies of different cell types including osteoblast, nervous, and cardiac cells [164]. Valentini et al [165] found that neuroblastoma cells grown on β PVDF exhibit significantly greater levels of process outgrowth and neurite lengths than those grown on α phase.…”

The effect of PVDF‐TrFE scaffolds on stem cell derived cardiovascular cells

“…Electrospun PVDF-TrFE scaffolds having aligned fibers were fabricated and characterized as previously described (Lee and Arinzeh, 2012;Lee et al, 2011b). Briefly, PVDF-TrFE (65/35) (Solvay Solexis, Inc., Cranbury, NJ) was dissolved in methyl ethyl ketone and electrospun using a fast rotating drum to collect aligned fibers.…”

“…Scaffolds were annealed via heating at 135 C for 96 h followed by cooling in ice water. The annealed and aligned PVDF-TrFE scaffolds exhibited an elastic modulus of 359.77 AE 143.26 MPa and an ultimate tensile strength of 21.42 AE 9.62 MPa along the fiber axis (Lee and Arinzeh, 2012). The average fiber diameter of 575 AE 139 nm and the average fiber alignments of 89% AE 10% were obtained by analyzing scanning electron micrographs using ImageJ (NIH, Bethesda, MD), as previously described (Lee et al, 2011b).…”

“…Recently, poly (vinylidene) fluoride (PVDF) and its copolymer poly (vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (PVDF-TrFE), both exhibiting piezoelectric characteristics, have been explored as potential scaffold materials for tissue engineering applications. Piezoelectric scaffolds possess the intrinsic property of producing an electrical voltage in response to mechanical deformation without the need for external power sources or electrodes (Damaraju et al, 2013;Lee and Arinzeh, 2012;Martins et al, 2013;Weber et al, 2010a). While the feasibility of PVDF-TrFE scaffolds for bone and neural cell studies have recently been demonstrated, the effect of PVDF-TrFE scaffolds on cardiovascular cells has not yet been explored.…”

Ultrasound-mediated piezoelectric differentiation of neuron-like PC12 cells on PVDF membranes

“…Such polymeric materials, which possess a superior processability compatible with current scaffold shaping techniques, can easily be used to fabricate piezoelectric scaffolds. Arinzeh’s group demonstrated the feasibility of using electrospun piezoelectric P(VDF-TrFE) scaffolds for enhanced proliferation and stimulation of stem and neuron cells 26–28 . Nevertheless, those studies were conducted under static conditions where the influence of the piezoelectric P(VDF-TrFE) property on the cell fate under dynamic stimulation was not investigated.…”