title: Stiffness of Hydrogels Regulates Cellular Reprogramming Efficiency Through Mesenchymal-to-Epithelial Transition and Stemness Markers.
abstract: The stiffness of hydrogels has been reported to direct cell fate. Here, we found that the stiffness of hydrogels promotes the reprogramming of mouse embryonic fibroblasts into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). We prepared cell culture substrates of various stiffnesses (0.1, 1, 4, 10, and 20 kPa) using a polyacrylamide hydrogel. We found that culture on a soft hydrogel plays an important role in inducing cellular reprogramming into iPSCs via activation of mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition and enhancement of stemness marker expression. These results suggest that physical signals at the interface between cell and substrate can be used as a potent regulator to promote cell fate changes associated with reprogramming into iPSCs, which may lead to effective and reproducible iPSC-production.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Science, CHA University, 335 Pangyo-ro, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, 463-400, Korea.
authors.forename: Bogyu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Science, CHA University, 335 Pangyo-ro, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, 463-400, Korea.|Center for Biomaterials, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 131, Cheongryang, Seoul, 130-650, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Kwang-Sook
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Science, CHA University, 335 Pangyo-ro, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, 463-400, Korea.
authors.forename: Ji-Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Science, CHA University, 335 Pangyo-ro, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, 463-400, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyoung-Won
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Science, CHA University, 335 Pangyo-ro, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, 463-400, Korea.
authors.forename: Jin-Su
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Center for Biomaterials, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 131, Cheongryang, Seoul, 130-650, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Dong Keun
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Science, CHA University, 335 Pangyo-ro, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, 463-400, Korea. soohong@cha.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Soo-Hong
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D065150:Cellular Reprogramming; D000067470:Cellular Reprogramming Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry*; D057026:Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice
chemical_list: D020100:Hydrogels
keywords: cellular reprogramming; induced pluripotent stem cells; mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition; stemness markers; stiffness of hydrogel