1. Stimulation of adipogenesis of adult adipose-derived stem cells using substrates that mimic the stiffness of adipose tissue
- Author
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Young, D Adam, Choi, Yu Suk, Engler, Adam J, and Christman, Karen L
- Subjects
Bioengineering ,Regenerative Medicine ,Stem Cell Research ,Stem Cell Research - Nonembryonic - Human ,Stem Cell Research - Nonembryonic - Non-Human ,Underpinning research ,1.1 Normal biological development and functioning ,Musculoskeletal ,Adipocytes ,Adipogenesis ,Adipose Tissue ,Adult Stem Cells ,Cell Differentiation ,Cytochalasin D ,Cytoskeleton ,Extracellular Matrix ,Humans ,Microscopy ,Atomic Force ,Tissue Engineering ,Up-Regulation ,Adipose tissue engineering ,Stem cell ,Cell morphology ,Soft tissue biomechanics - Abstract
Biochemical and biomechanical extracellular matrix (ECM) cues have recently been shown to play a role in stimulating stem cell differentiation towards several lineages, though how they combine to induce adipogenesis has been less well studied. The objective of this study was to recapitulate both the ECM composition and mechanical properties of adipose tissue in vitro to stimulate adipogenesis of human adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) in the absence of exogenous adipogenic growth factors and small molecules. Adipose specific ECM biochemical cues have been previously shown to influence adipogenic differentiation; however, the ability of biomechanical cues to promote adipogenesis has been less defined. Decellularized human lipoaspirate was used to functionalize polyacrylamide gels of varying stiffness to allow the cells to interact with adipose-specific ECM components. Culturing ASCs on gels that mimicked the native stiffness of adipose tissue (2 kPa) significantly upregulated adipogenic markers, in the absence of exogenous adipogenic growth factors and small molecules. As substrate stiffness increased, the cells became more spread, lost their rounded morphology, and failed to upregulate adipogenic markers. Together these data imply that as with other lineages, mechanical cues are capable of regulating adipogenesis in ASCs.
- Published
- 2013