Direct Control of Stem Cell Behavior Using Biomaterials and Genetic Factors

Table 2

Maintenance of stemness using biomaterials.

Type of biomaterials	Details of materials	Type of cells	Observation	Ref.
Natural (nonsynthetic)	Decellularized ECM of undifferentiated hMSCs	hMSCs; mASCs	Decellularized ECM of undifferentiated MSCs promoted self-renewal, colony formation, and stemness maintenance of hMSCs.	[38–41]
	Decellularized tendon tissue	hTSCs	Decellularized tendon tissues enhanced self-renewal and stemness maintenance of hTSCs.	[42]
Hydrogel	Polyacrylamide gels and PDMS stamps	hMSCs	Low cytoskeletal tension was maintained by controlling substrate stiffness as cell spreading was restricted, thereby enhancing stemness. Polyacrylamide gels and PDMS stamps were used to regulate biophysical parameters.	[43]
	Alginate/GelMA hydrogels	hBMSCs and GMSCs	Compared to alginate hydrogels, alginate/GelMA hydrogels maintained stemness due to decreased hydrogel stiffness.	[44]
	Pullulan-collagen hydrogel	mBMSCs	Biomimetic hydrogel maintained stemness of mouse bone marrow-derived MSCs (mBMSCs) compared to tissue plate culture, resulting in enhanced viability after in vivo injection.	[45]
	RGD-modified poly(carboxybetaine) hydrogel	hBMSCs	hMSCs formed 3D spheroids on the 5 μM RGD substrate, and the stemness was well maintained compared to 5 mM RGD substrate, which enhanced osteogenic differentiation.	[46]
Topography	PCL	hMSCs	A surface nanopattern with 120 nm pits in a square arrangement with a center-center spacing of 300 nm enhanced stemness of hMSCs compared to the flat PCL surface.	[47]
	PDMS	hBMSCs	A PDMS nanopattern 250 nm in depth, 350 nm in width, and with 700 nm pitch decreased hBMSC stemness compared to the flat surface control.	[48]
Polymeric surface coating	PLL-coated surface	hBMSCs	PLL-coated surface improved proliferation but retarded the replicative senescence of hBMSCs by increasing the S-phase.	[49]
		hHSCs	PLL substrates increased the total number of hHSCs while stemness was maintained.	[50]
	PCL nanofiber	hMSCs	Bone marrow collagen-mimetic PCL nanofiber matrices increased the expression of self-renewal factors and cell-cell interaction markers in hMSCs.	[51]
	PEG-PCL copolymer	hMSCs	PEG-PCL copolymer exhibited moderate surface repellency and induced aggregation of hMSCs, which promoted stemness and lowered intracellular ROS accumulation.	[52]
Nanofibrous scaffold	Emu oil-loaded PCL/Coll nanofiber	hASCs	Emu oil-loaded nanofibers with higher tensile strength enhanced the expression of stemness, proliferation, and cell adhesion markers in hASCs compared to unloaded nanofibers.	[53]
	Gelatin nanofiber	hMSCs	3D culture of hMSC in a nanostructured electrospun gelatin patch maintained stemness of hMSCs for 3 weeks.	[54]
Chitosan	Chitosan film	hASC	The chitosan film induced spheroid formation of hASCs with higher activities of self-renewal and colony formation, as well as significant upregulation of pluripotency marker expression.	[56]
	Chitosan film + hypoxia	hUCBMSC	The chitosan film promoted spheroid formation of hUCBMSC under hypoxia than normoxia. HIF-1 additionally induced expression of stemness genes.	[57]