Exercising mesenchymal stem cells during nomadic culture on heterogeneous field of elasticity

Abstract

Therapeutic properties of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have close relations with the stemness, while which tend to deteriorate depending on the memory of mechanical dose from the culture matrix. To assure the maintenance of stemness of MSCs during usual expansion culture, it is essential to design the micromechanical environment to inhibit the lineage bias. For this issue, we have developed the microelastically-patterned hydrogels with triangular stiff domains on soft base, which drives both forward and reverse durotaxis of MSCs resulting in the nomadic migrations among different region of elasticity. This culture system was found to make MSCs more vigorous in terms of up-regulation in the genes relating to cell viability, prolifereation and motility including highest expression of core regulator of Wnt signaling, APC. In this talk, mechanisms of such exercising effects for MSCs and manner of the stemness maintenance during the nomadic culture on heterogeneous field of elasticity are discussed.