title: Regulation of Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Hepatic Cell Phenotype by Three-Dimensional Hydrogel Models.
abstract: Human-induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived hepatocytes are anticipated as important surrogates for primary human hepatocytes in applications ranging from basic research to drug discovery and regenerative medicine. Although methods for differentiating hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) from hiPSCs have developed remarkably, the limited yield of fully functional HLCs is still a major obstacle to their utility. A three-dimensional (3D) culture environment could improve the in vitro hepatic maturation of HLCs. Here we compare 3D hydrogel models of hiPSC-derived HLCs in agarose microwells (3D Petri Dish; 3DPD), nanofibrillar cellulose hydrogels (Growdex; 3DNFC), or animal extracellular matrix-based hydrogels (3D Matrigel; 3DMG). In all the tested 3D biomaterial systems, HLCs formed aggregates. In comparison with two-dimensional monolayer culture, 3DPD and 3DMG models showed both phenotypic and functional enhancement in HLCs over 2.5 weeks of 3D culture. Specifically, we found higher hepatocyte-specific gene expression levels and enhanced cytochrome P450 functions. Our work suggests that transferring HLCs into 3D hydrogel systems can expedite the hepatic maturation of HLCs irrespective of the biochemical nature of the 3D hydrogel. Both plant-based nonembedding and animal-based embedding 3D hydrogel models enhanced the maturation.
authors.affiliation: 1 Research Programs Unit, Molecular Neurology, Biomedicum Stem Cell Center, University of Helsinki , Helsinki, Finland .
authors.forename: Sanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Toivonen
authors.affiliation: 2 Centre for Drug Research, Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, University of Helsinki , Helsinki, Finland .
authors.forename: Melina M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Malinen
authors.affiliation: 3 School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland & Biocenter Kuopio , Kuopio, Finland .
authors.forename: Jenni
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Küblbeck
authors.affiliation: 3 School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland & Biocenter Kuopio , Kuopio, Finland .
authors.forename: Aleksanteri
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Petsalo
authors.affiliation: 2 Centre for Drug Research, Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, University of Helsinki , Helsinki, Finland .|3 School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland & Biocenter Kuopio , Kuopio, Finland .
authors.forename: Arto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Urtti
authors.affiliation: 3 School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland & Biocenter Kuopio , Kuopio, Finland .
authors.forename: Paavo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Honkakoski
authors.affiliation: 1 Research Programs Unit, Molecular Neurology, Biomedicum Stem Cell Center, University of Helsinki , Helsinki, Finland .|4 Children's Hospital, Helsinki University Central Hospital , Helsinki, Finland .
authors.forename: Timo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Otonkoski
mesh_terms: D002454:Cell Differentiation; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry*; D057026:Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D008954:Models, Biological
chemical_list: D020100:Hydrogels