Stretch-activated ion channel Piezo1 directs lineage choice in human neural stem cells.

Neural stem cells are multipotent cells with the ability to differentiate into neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes. Lineage specification is strongly sensitive to the mechanical properties of the cellular environment. However, molecular pathways transducing matrix mechanical cues to intracellular signaling pathways linked to lineage specification remain unclear. We found that the mechanically gated ion channel Piezo1 is expressed by brain-derived human neural stem/progenitor cells and is responsible for a mechanically induced ionic current. Piezo1 activity triggered by traction forces elicited influx of Ca(2+), a known modulator of differentiation, in a substrate-stiffness-dependent manner. Inhibition of channel activity by the pharmacological inhibitor GsMTx-4 or by siRNA-mediated Piezo1 knockdown suppressed neurogenesis and enhanced astrogenesis. Piezo1 knockdown also reduced the nuclear localization of the mechanoreactive transcriptional coactivator Yes-associated protein. We propose that the mechanically gated ion channel Piezo1 is an important determinant of mechanosensitive lineage choice in neural stem cells and may play similar roles in other multipotent stem cells.

Growth and Spatial Control of Murine Neural Stem Cells on Reflectin Films.

Stem cells have attracted significant attention due to their regenerative capabilities and their potential for the treatment of disease. Consequently, significant research effort has focused on the development of protein- and polypeptide-based materials as stem cell substrates and scaffolds. Here, we explore the ability of reflectin, a cephalopod structural protein, to support the growth of murine neural stem/progenitor cells (mNSPCs). We observe that the binding, growth, and differentiation of mNSPCs on reflectin films is comparable to that on more established protein-based materials. Moreover, we find that heparin selectively inhibits the adhesion of mNSPCs on reflectin, affording spatial control of cell growth and leading to a >30-fold change in cell density on patterned substrates. The described findings highlight the potential utility of reflectin as a stem cell culture material.

Myosin-II mediated traction forces evoke localized Piezo1-dependent Ca2+ flickers.

Piezo channels transduce mechanical stimuli into electrical and chemical signals to powerfully influence development, tissue homeostasis, and regeneration. Studies on Piezo1 have largely focused on transduction of "outside-in" mechanical forces, and its response to internal, cell-generated forces remains poorly understood. Here, using measurements of endogenous Piezo1 activity and traction forces in native cellular conditions, we show that cellular traction forces generate spatially-restricted Piezo1-mediated Ca2+ flickers in the absence of externally-applied mechanical forces. Although Piezo1 channels diffuse readily in the plasma membrane and are widely distributed across the cell, their flicker activity is enriched near force-producing adhesions. The mechanical force that activates Piezo1 arises from Myosin II phosphorylation by Myosin Light Chain Kinase. We propose that Piezo1 Ca2+ flickers allow spatial segregation of mechanotransduction events, and that mobility allows Piezo1 channels to explore a large number of mechanical microdomains and thus respond to a greater diversity of mechanical cues.

Recombinant collagen scaffolds as substrates for human neural stem/progenitor cells.

Adhesion to the microenvironment profoundly affects stem cell functions, including proliferation and differentiation, and understanding the interaction of stem cells with the microenvironment is important for controlling their behavior. In this study, we investigated the effects of the integrin binding epitopes GFOGER and IKVAV (natively present in collagen I and laminin, respectively) on human neural stem/progenitor cells (hNSPCs). To test the specificity of these epitopes, GFOGER or IKVAV were placed within the context of recombinant triple-helical collagen III engineered to be devoid of native integrin binding sites. HNSPCs adhered to collagen that presented GFOGER as the sole integrin-binding site, but not to IKVAV-containing collagen. For the GFOGER-containing collagens, antibodies against the ß1 integrin subunit prevented cellular adhesion, antibodies against the α1 subunit reduced cell adhesion, and antibodies against α2 or α3 subunits had no significant effect. These results indicate that hNSPCs primarily interact with GFOGER through the α1ß1 integrin heterodimer. These GFOGER-presenting collagen variants also supported differentiation of hNSPCs into neurons and astrocytes. Our findings show, for the first time, that hNSPCs can bind to the GFOGER sequence, and they provide motivation to develop hydrogels formed from recombinant collagen variants as a cell delivery scaffold. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 106A: 1363-1372, 2018.

Cell Surface N-Glycans Influence Electrophysiological Properties and Fate Potential of Neural Stem Cells.

Understanding the cellular properties controlling neural stem and progenitor cell (NSPC) fate choice will improve their therapeutic potential. The electrophysiological measure whole-cell membrane capacitance reflects fate bias in the neural lineage but the cellular properties underlying membrane capacitance are poorly understood. We tested the hypothesis that cell surface carbohydrates contribute to NSPC membrane capacitance and fate. We found NSPCs differing in fate potential express distinct patterns of glycosylation enzymes. Screening several glycosylation pathways revealed that the one forming highly branched N-glycans differs between neurogenic and astrogenic populations of cells in vitro and in vivo. Enhancing highly branched N-glycans on NSPCs significantly increases membrane capacitance and leads to the generation of more astrocytes at the expense of neurons with no effect on cell size, viability, or proliferation. These data identify the N-glycan branching pathway as a significant regulator of membrane capacitance and fate choice in the neural lineage.

Reflectin as a Material for Neural Stem Cell Growth.

Cephalopods possess remarkable camouflage capabilities, which are enabled by their complex skin structure and sophisticated nervous system. Such unique characteristics have in turn inspired the design of novel functional materials and devices. Within this context, recent studies have focused on investigating the self-assembly, optical, and electrical properties of reflectin, a protein that plays a key role in cephalopod structural coloration. Herein, we report the discovery that reflectin constitutes an effective material for the growth of human neural stem/progenitor cells. Our findings may hold relevance both for understanding cephalopod embryogenesis and for developing improved protein-based bioelectronic devices.

Combination scaffolds of salmon fibrin, hyaluronic acid, and laminin for human neural stem cell and vascular tissue engineering.

UNLABELLED: Human neural stem/progenitor cells (hNSPCs) are good candidates for treating central nervous system (CNS) trauma since they secrete beneficial trophic factors and differentiate into mature CNS cells; however, many cells die after transplantation. This cell death can be ameliorated by inclusion of a biomaterial scaffold, making identification of optimal scaffolds for hNSPCs a critical research focus. We investigated the properties of fibrin-based scaffolds and their effects on hNSPCs and found that fibrin generated from salmon fibrinogen and thrombin stimulates greater hNSPC proliferation than mammalian fibrin. Fibrin scaffolds degrade over the course of a few days in vivo, so we sought to develop a novel scaffold that would retain the beneficial properties of fibrin but degrade more slowly to provide longer support for hNSPCs. We found combination scaffolds of salmon fibrin with interpenetrating networks (IPNs) of hyaluronic acid (HA) with and without laminin polymerize more effectively than fibrin alone and generate compliant hydrogels matching the physical properties of brain tissue. Furthermore, combination scaffolds support hNSPC proliferation and differentiation while significantly attenuating the cell-mediated degradation seen with fibrin alone. HNSPCs express two fibrinogen-binding integrins, αVß1 and α5ß1, and several laminin binding integrins (α7ß1, α6ß1, α3ß1) that can mediate interaction with the scaffold. Lastly, to test the ability of scaffolds to support vascularization, we analyzed human cord blood-derived endothelial cells alone and in co-culture with hNSPCs and found enhanced vessel formation and complexity in co-cultures within combination scaffolds. Overall, combination scaffolds of fibrin, HA, and laminin are excellent biomaterials for hNSPCs. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Interest has increased recently in the development of biomaterials as neural stem cell transplantation scaffolds to treat central nervous system (CNS) injury since scaffolds improve survival and integration of transplanted cells. We report here on a novel combination scaffold composed of fibrin, hyaluronic acid, and laminin to support human neural stem/progenitor cell (hNSPC) function. This combined biomaterial scaffold has appropriate physical properties for hNSPCs and the CNS, supports hNSPC proliferation and differentiation, and attenuates rapid cell-mediated scaffold degradation. The hNSPCs and scaffold components synergistically encourage new vessel formation from human endothelial cells. This work marks the first report of a combination scaffold supporting human neural and vascular cells to encourage vasculogenesis, and sets a benchmark for biomaterials to treat CNS injury.

Static stretch affects neural stem cell differentiation in an extracellular matrix-dependent manner.

Neural stem and progenitor cell (NSPC) fate is strongly influenced by mechanotransduction as modulation of substrate stiffness affects lineage choice. Other types of mechanical stimuli, such as stretch (tensile strain), occur during CNS development and trauma, but their consequences for NSPC differentiation have not been reported. We delivered a 10% static equibiaxial stretch to NSPCs and examined effects on differentiation. We found static stretch specifically impacts NSPC differentiation into oligodendrocytes, but not neurons or astrocytes, and this effect is dependent on particular extracellular matrix (ECM)-integrin linkages. Generation of oligodendrocytes from NSPCs was reduced on laminin, an outcome likely mediated by the α6 laminin-binding integrin, whereas similar effects were not observed for NSPCs on fibronectin. Our data demonstrate a direct role for tensile strain in dictating the lineage choice of NSPCs and indicate the dependence of this phenomenon on specific substrate materials, which should be taken into account for the design of biomaterials for NSPC transplantation.

Increasing label-free stem cell sorting capacity to reach transplantation-scale throughput.

Dielectrophoresis (DEP) has proven an invaluable tool for the enrichment of populations of stem and progenitor cells owing to its ability to sort cells in a label-free manner and its biological safety. However, DEP separation devices have suffered from a low throughput preventing researchers from undertaking studies requiring large numbers of cells, such as needed for cell transplantation. We developed a microfluidic device designed for the enrichment of stem and progenitor cell populations that sorts cells at a rate of 150,000 cells/h, corresponding to an improvement in the throughput achieved with our previous device designs by over an order of magnitude. This advancement, coupled with data showing the DEP-sorted cells retain their enrichment and differentiation capacity when expanded in culture for periods of up to 2 weeks, provides sufficient throughput and cell numbers to enable a wider variety of experiments with enriched stem and progenitor cell populations. Furthermore, the sorting devices presented here provide ease of setup and operation, a simple fabrication process, and a low associated cost to use that makes them more amenable for use in common biological research laboratories. To our knowledge, this work represents the first to enrich stem cells and expand them in culture to generate transplantation-scale numbers of differentiation-competent cells using DEP.