title: Engineering cell-material interfaces for long-term expansion of human pluripotent stem cells.
abstract: Cost-effective and scalable synthetic matrices that support long-term expansion of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) have many applications, ranging from drug screening platforms to regenerative medicine. Here, we report the development of a hydrogel-based matrix containing synthetic heparin-mimicking moieties that supports the long-term expansion of hPSCs (≥20 passages) in a chemically defined medium. HPSCs expanded on this synthetic matrix maintained their characteristic morphology, colony forming ability, karyotypic stability, and differentiation potential. We also used the synthetic matrix as a platform to investigate the effects of various physicochemical properties of the extracellular environment on the adhesion, growth, and self-renewal of hPSCs. The observed cellular responses can be explained in terms of matrix interface-mediated binding of extracellular matrix proteins, growth factors, and other cell-secreted factors, which create an instructive microenvironment to support self-renewal of hPSCs. These synthetic matrices, which comprise of "off-the-shelf" components and are easy to synthesize, provide an ideal tool to elucidate the molecular mechanisms that control stem cell fate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
authors.forename: Chien-Wen
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Yongsung
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Dave
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brafman
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hagan
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Phung
authors.forename: Shyni
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Varghese
mesh_terms: D061249:Batch Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D040761:Biomimetic Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D002460:Cell Line; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000502:physiology; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry*; D008422:Materials Testing; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D020100:Hydrogels