RT Journal Article
SR 00
ID 10.1021/acsami.1c06752
A1 Wei, Dan
A1 Charlton, Laura
A1 Glidle, Andrew
A1 Qi, Nan
A1 Dobson, Phillip S.
A1 Dalby, Matthew John
A1 Fan, Hongsong
A1 Yin, Huabing
T1 Dynamically modulated core-shell microfibers to study the effect of depth sensing of matrix stiffness on stem cell fate
JF ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
YR 2021
FD 2021-08-18
VO 13
IS 32
SP 37997
OP 38006
AB It is well known that extracellular matrix stiffness can affect cell fate and change dynamically during many biological processes. Existing experimental means for in situ matrix stiffness modulation often alters its structure, which could induce additional undesirable effects on cells. Inspired by the phenomenon of depth sensing by cells, we introduce here core–shell microfibers with a thin collagen core for cell growth and an alginate shell that can be dynamically stiffened to deliver mechanical stimuli. This allows for the maintenance of biochemical properties and structure of the surrounding microenvironment, while dynamically modulating the effective modulus “felt” by cells. We show that simple addition of Sr2+ in media can easily increase the stiffness of initially Ca2+ cross-linked alginate shells. Thus, despite the low stiffness of collagen cores (<5 kPa), the effective modulus of the matrix “felt” by cells are substantially higher, which promotes osteogenesis differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells. We show this effect is more prominent in the stiffening microfiber compared to a static microfiber control. This approach provides a versatile platform to independently and dynamically modulate cellular microenvironments with desirable biochemical, physical, and mechanical stimuli without an unintended interplay of effects, facilitating investigations of a wide range of dynamic cellular processes.
PB American Chemical Society
SN 1944-8244
LK https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/247287/