Work

Substantial Differentiation of Human Neural Stem Cells Into Motor Neurons on a Biomimetic Polyurea

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: To find the first restorative treatment for spinal cord injury (SCI), researchers have focused on stem cell therapies. However, one obstacle is the lack of an implantable cell scaffold that can support efficient motor neuron (MN) differentiation and proliferation. We aimed to overcome this through the use of an RGD functionalized novel biomimetic polyurea, optimized to encourage efficient differentiation of MNs. Images taken after 14-days showed increased differentiation (∼40%) of hNSCs into MNs as well as increased cell count on the biomimetic polymer compared to PDL-Laminin coating, indicating that the RGD-polyurea provides a favorable microenvironment for hNSC survival, having promising implications for future SCI therapies.

Source: Macromolecular Bioscience

DOI: 10.1002/mabi.201500066

Authors: Donghwa Yun, Young M. Lee, Melissa R. Laughter, Curt R. Freed, Daewon Park

Institutions: University of Colorado Denver, University of Colorado Anschutz

Language: English

Topic: Spinal Cord Injury Research

Subfield: Pathology and Forensic Medicine

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Eye Institute