Controlling the microenvironment surrounding the pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) is a pivotal strategy for regulating cellular differentiation. Surface nanotopography is one of the key factors influencing the lineage-specific differentiation of PSCs. However, much of the underlying mechanism remains unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnderstanding signals in the microenvironment that regulate endothelial cell behavior are important in tissue engineering. Although many studies have examined the cellular effects of nanotopography, no study has investigated the functional regulation of human endothelial cells grown on nano-sized gradient hole substrate. We examined the cellular response of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) by using a gradient nanohole substrate (GHS) with three different types of nanohole patterns (HP): which diameters were described in HP1, 120-200 nm; HP2, 200-280 nm; HP3, 280-360 nm.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNanotopography can be found in various extracellular matrices (ECMs) around the body and is known to have important regulatory actions upon cellular reactions. However, it is difficult to determine the relation between the size of a nanostructure and the responses of cells owing to the lack of proper screening tools. Here, we show the development of reproducible and cost-effective gradient nanopattern plates for the manipulation of cellular responses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: Nanotopography plays a pivotal role in the regulation of cellular responses. Nonetheless, little is known about how the gradient size of nanostructural stimuli alters the responses of endothelial progenitor cells without chemical factors. Herein, the fabrication of gradient nanopattern plates intended to mimic microenvironment nanotopography is described.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNanoscaled surface patterning is an emerging potential method of directing the fate of stem cells. We adopted nanoscaled pillar gradient patterned cell culture plates with three diameter gradients [280-360 (GP 280/360), 200-280 (GP 200/280), and 120-200 nm (GP 120/200)] and investigated their cell fate-modifying effect on multipotent fetal liver kinase 1-positive mesodermal precursor cells (Flk1 MPCs) derived from embryonic stem cells. We observed increased cell proliferation and colony formation of the Flk1 MPCs on the nanopattern plates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe human body contains different endothelial cell types and differences in their angiogenic potential are poorly understood. We compared the functional angiogenic ability of human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) using a three-dimensional (3D) microfluidic cell culture system. HAECs and HUVECs exhibited similar cellular characteristics in a 2D culture system; however, in the 3D microfluidic angiogenesis system, HAECs exhibited stronger angiogenic potential than HUVECs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Endothelial colony forming cells (ECFCs), a subtype of endothelial progenitor cells, have been studied as a promising cellular source for therapeutic angiogenesis. Although ECFCs are very similar to mature endothelial cells, details regarding the role of ECFCs during angiogenesis are not known. We compared the cellular and angiogenic properties of ECFCs and mature endothelial cells (HUVECs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is widely used to induce multilineage differentiation of embryonic and adult progenitor cells. To date, little is known about the mechanisms underlying DMSO-induced mesodermal specification. In this study, we investigated the signaling pathways and lineage-determining genes involved in DMSO-induced mesodermal specification in P19 cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProangiogenic cell therapy using autologous progenitors is a promising strategy for treating ischemic disease. Considering that neovascularization is a harmonized cellular process that involves both endothelial cells and vascular smooth muscle cells, peripheral blood-originating endothelial colony-forming cells (ECFCs) and smooth muscle progenitor cells (SMPCs), which are similar to mature endothelial cells and vascular smooth muscle cells, could be attractive cellular candidates to achieve therapeutic neovascularization. We successfully induced populations of two different vascular progenitor cells (ECFCs and SMPCs) from adult peripheral blood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMitochondria are key organelles dedicated to energy production. Crif1, which interacts with the large subunit of the mitochondrial ribosome, is indispensable for the mitochondrial translation and membrane insertion of respiratory subunits. To explore the physiological function of Crif1 in the heart, Crif1(f/f) mice were crossed with Myh6-cre/Esr1 transgenic mice, which harbor cardiomyocyte-specific Cre activity in a tamoxifen-dependent manner.
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