Effects of Culture Substrate Made of Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid) Microgels on Osteogenic Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells.
Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM)-based polymers and gels are widely known and studied for their thermoresponsive property. In the biomaterials category, they are regarded as a potential cell culture substrate, not only because of their biocompatibility, but also their special character of allowing controlled detachment of cells via temperature stimulus. Previous research about PNIPAM-based substrates mostly concentrated on their effects in cell adhesion and proliferation. In this study, however, we investigate the influence of the PNIPAM-based substrate on the differentiation capacity of stem cells. Especially, we choose P(NIPAM-AA) microgels as a culture dish coating and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are cultured on top of the microgels. Interestingly, we find that the morphology of MSCs changes remarkably on a microgel-coated surface, from the original spindle form to a more stretched and elongated cell shape. Accompanied by the alternation in morphology, the expression of several osteogenesis-related genes is elevated even without inducing factors. In the presence of full osteogenic medium, MSCs on a microgel substrate show an enhancement in the expression level of osteopontin and alizarin red staining signals, indicating the physical property of substrate has a direct effect on MSCs differentiation.
Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong, China. daizhuojun328@gmail.com.
Zhuojun
Z
Dai
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong, China. shuyinglan88@gmail.com.
Yinglan
Y
Shu
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong, China. cwan@cuhk.edu.hk.
Chao
C
Wan
Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong, China. chiwu@cuhk.edu.hk.
Chi
C
Wu
D000180:Acrylic Resins / Q000737:chemistry*; D000818:Animals; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice
D000180:Acrylic Resins; C052970:poly-N-isopropylacrylamide
cell morphology; extracellular matrix; mesenchymal stem cells; microgels; osteogenesis; p(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid)