Decellularized Matrix Produced by Mesenchymal Stem Cells Modulates Growth and Metabolic Activity of Hepatic Cell Cluster.

Miniature organlike three-dimensional cell clusters often called organoids have emerged as a useful tool for both fundamental and applied bioscience studies. However, there is still a great need to improve the quality of organoids to a level where they exhibit similar biological functionality to an organ. To this end, we hypothesized that a decellularized matrix derived from mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) could regulate the phenotypic and metabolic activity of organoids.

Balanced Effects of Surface Reactivity and Self-Association of Bifunctional Polyaspartamide on Stem Cell Adhesion.

Extensive efforts have been made to regulate surface wettability using bivalent polymers composed of hydrophobic surface-reactive groups and hydrophilic groups. To further enhance the controllability, this study demonstrates that the balance between the surface reactivity and self-aggregation of bivalent poly(hydroxyethyl--methacryloxyethyl aspartamide) (PHMAA) is crucial in controlling the wettability of methacrylated glass and thus the adhesion of stem cells. In particular, the wettability of the glass and the subsequent cell spreading became maximal with PHMAA that led to the largest and most uniform coverage of hydroxyl groups.