Cell-imprinted substrates act as an artificial niche for skin regeneration

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2014 Aug 13;6(15):13280-92. doi: 10.1021/am503045b. Epub 2014 Jul 10.

Abstract

Bioinspired materials can mimic the stem cell environment and modulate stem cell differentiation and proliferation. In this study, biomimetic micro/nanoenvironments were fabricated by cell-imprinted substrates based on mature human keratinocyte morphological templates. The data obtained from atomic force microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy revealed that the keratinocyte-cell-imprinted poly(dimethylsiloxane) casting procedure could imitate the surface morphology of the plasma membrane, ranging from the nanoscale to the macroscale, which may provide the required topographical cell fingerprints to induce differentiation. Gene expression levels of the genes analyzed (involucrin, collagen type I, and keratin 10) together with protein expression data showed that human adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) seeded on these cell-imprinted substrates were driven to adopt the specific shape and characteristics of keratinocytes. The observed morphology of the ADSCs grown on the keratinocyte casts was noticeably different from that of stem cells cultivated on the stem-cell-imprinted substrates. Since the shape and geometry of the nucleus could potentially alter the gene expression, we used molecular dynamics to probe the effect of the confining geometry on the chain arrangement of simulated chromatin fibers in the nuclei. The results obtained suggested that induction of mature cell shapes onto stem cells can influence nucleus deformation of the stem cells followed by regulation of target genes. This might pave the way for a reliable, efficient, and cheap approach of controlling stem cell differentiation toward skin cells for wound healing applications.

MeSH terms

  • 3T3 Cells
  • Adipose Tissue / cytology
  • Animals
  • Cell Membrane / drug effects
  • Cell Nucleus / drug effects
  • Cell Nucleus / metabolism
  • Cell Separation
  • Cell Shape / drug effects
  • Dimethylpolysiloxanes / pharmacology
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Humans
  • Keratinocytes / cytology*
  • Keratinocytes / drug effects
  • Keratinocytes / metabolism
  • Male
  • Mesoderm / drug effects
  • Mice
  • Microscopy, Atomic Force
  • Molecular Dynamics Simulation
  • Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Regeneration*
  • Silicones / pharmacology
  • Skin / cytology*
  • Stem Cells / cytology*
  • Stem Cells / drug effects
  • Stem Cells / metabolism
  • Tissue Engineering / methods*

Substances

  • Dimethylpolysiloxanes
  • Silicones
  • baysilon