Matrix-specified differentiation of human decidua parietalis placental stem cells

Indumathi Sridharan, Taeyoung Kim, Zuzana Strakova, Rong Wang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

To create suitable biological scaffolds for tissue engineering and cell therapeutics, it is essential to understand the matrix-mediated specification of stem cell differentiation. To this end, we studied the effect of collagen type I on stem cell lineage specification. We altered the properties of collagen type I by incorporating carbon nanotubes (CNT). The collagen-CNT composite material was stiffer with thicker fibers and longer D-period. Human decidua parietalis stem cells (hdpPSC) were found to differentiate exclusively and rapidly towards neural cells on the collagen-CNT matrix. We attribute this accelerated neural differentiation to the enhanced structural and mechanical properties of collagen-CNT material. Strikingly, the collagen-CNT matrix, unlike collagen, imposes the neural fate by an alternate mechanism that may be independent of beta-1 integrin and beta-catenin. The study demonstrates the sensitivity of stem cells to subtle changes in the matrix and the utilization of a novel biocomposite material for efficient and directed differentiation of stem cells.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)489-495
Number of pages7
JournalBiochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
Volume437
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2 Aug 2013
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Carbon nanotubes
  • Collagen
  • Neural differentiation
  • Stem cells

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