title: Stem cells go soft: pliant substrate surfaces enhance motor neuron differentiation.
abstract: Derivation of motor neurons from human pluripotent stem cells is inefficient and requires complex culture protocols. Recently in Nature Materials, Sun et al. (2014) report that differentiating human pluripotent stem cells on soft substrates increases the efficiency of mature motor neuron differentiation by altering cytoskeletal mechanotransduction through the Hippo/YAP/Smad pathway.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, China; Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. Electronic address: nwangrw@illinois.edu.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D002454:Cell Differentiation; D006801:Humans; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases