title: Effect of spacer arm length between adhesion ligand and alginate hydrogel on stem cell differentiation.
abstract: Controlling cell-polymer interactions is one of the most critical components in the development of scaffolds for tissue engineering. In this study, we hypothesized that controlling the spacer arm length of adhesion ligand, such as RGD peptide, coupled to alginate hydrogels could regulate stem cell phenotypes. The results of our investigation indicate that the viability of stem cells was enhanced as spacer arm length increased. The spacer arm length of adhesion ligand also influenced differentiation of stem cells. Osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation of stem cells was promoted by increasing adhesion ligand spacer arm length. On the contrary, chondrogenic differentiation was independent of spacer arm length at the same ligand density and cell concentration. Interestingly, as the cell concentration in alginate gels increased, the gels modified with adhesion ligand with long spacer arms improved chondrogenic differentiation of stem cells. We demonstrate here that the spacer arm length of adhesion ligand conjugated to polymer scaffolds is a key factor in controlling proliferation and differentiation of stem cells, which may be critical for many tissue engineering applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jae Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hwi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791, Republic of Korea; Institute of Nano Science and Technology, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: leeky@hanyang.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Kuen Yong
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D050156:Adipogenesis / Q000187:drug effects; D000464:Alginates / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D020219:Chondrogenesis / Q000187:drug effects; D024043:Collagen Type II / Q000235:genetics; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects; D020723:Glucuronic Acid / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D006603:Hexuronic Acids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D008024:Ligands; D051379:Mice; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D015675:Osteocalcin / Q000235:genetics; D010012:Osteogenesis / Q000187:drug effects; D047495:PPAR gamma / Q000235:genetics; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000464:Alginates; D024043:Collagen Type II; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; D020100:Hydrogels; D008024:Ligands; D009842:Oligopeptides; D047495:PPAR gamma; D015675:Osteocalcin; C047981:arginyl-glycyl-aspartic acid; D020723:Glucuronic Acid
keywords: Alginate hydrogel; Cell–matrix interaction; RGD; Spacer arm length; Stem cells