Berlin 2008 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 17: Physics of Cells

BP 17.4: Vortrag

Mittwoch, 27. Februar 2008, 14:45–15:00, PC 203

Stem Cell Fate Directed by Matrix Elasticity and Ligands — •Florian Rehfeldt, Shenshen Cai, and Dennis E. Discher — University of Pennsylvania, Biophysical Engineering Lab, Philadelphia, USA

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from adult bone marrow have recently been found responsive to matrix elasticity in their differentiation. Collagen-I coated hydrogels induce MSCs to express neurogenic, myogenic, and osteogenic markers depending on the Young’s modulus E (ranging from 1 to 34 kPa) of the substrate that is used to approximate the physiological elasticity of native tissue. While collagen is the most abundant protein in mammals, hyaluronic acid (HA) is the major non-protein factor in the marrow and is a widely distributed load-bearing matrix polysaccharide that promotes proliferation and migration during embryonic development and other processes. We show that MSCs dynamically express an HA-receptor, and we use the tunable elasticity of novel HA hydrogels to understand the morphology, motility, and fate choices of MSCs as they depend on matrix elasticity and adhesive ligands. Marrow-derived hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are also studied, and the results amplify the influence of matrix elasticity in stem cell fate choices.