Mobility mediates maturation: Synthetic substrates to enhance neural differentiation

Julien G Roth; Michelle S Huang; Sarah C Heilshorn

doi:10.1016/j.stem.2023.01.001

Mobility mediates maturation: Synthetic substrates to enhance neural differentiation

Cell Stem Cell. 2023 Feb 2;30(2):115-117. doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2023.01.001.

Authors

Julien G Roth¹, Michelle S Huang², Sarah C Heilshorn³

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Stanford Brain Organogenesis, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute & Bio-X, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
² Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
³ Stanford Brain Organogenesis, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute & Bio-X, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. Electronic address: heilshorn@stanford.edu.

PMID: 36736286
DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2023.01.001

Abstract

The maturation of human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived neurons in 2D is dependent upon cell attachment, spreading, and pathfinding across a biomaterial substrate. In this issue of Cell Stem Cell, Álvarez et al.¹ demonstrate that highly mobile supramolecular scaffolds facilitate long-term hiPSC-derived motor neuron culture, increase maturation-related phenotypes, and recapitulate disease-relevant pathologies.

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MeSH terms

Cell Differentiation / genetics
Cells, Cultured
Humans
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells*
Motor Neurons