title: Signal transduction of the physical environment in the neural differentiation of stem cells.
abstract: Neural differentiation is largely dependent on extracellular signals within the cell microenvironment. These extracellular signals are mainly in the form of soluble factors that activate intracellular signaling cascades that drive changes in the cell nucleus. However, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the physical microenvironment provides signals that can also influence lineage commitment and very low modulus surfaces has been repeatedly demonstrated to promote neurogenesis. The molecular mechanisms governing mechano-induced neural differentiation are still largely uncharacterized; however, a growing body of evidence indicates that physical stimuli can regulate known signaling cascades and transcription factors involved in neural differentiation. Understanding how the physical environment affects neural differentiation at the molecular level will enable research and design of materials that will eventually enhance neural stem cell (NSC) differentiation, homogeneity and specificity.
authors: Cell and Molecular Biology Program, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.
authors: Ryan
authors: R
authors: Thompson
authors: Cell and Molecular Biology Program, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA; Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.
authors: Christina
authors: C
authors: Chan
keywords: Mechanotransduction; Modulus; NRSF/REST; Neural; Rho/ROCK; SMAD; YAP/TAZ