In vitro culture of hematopoietic stem cell niche using angiopoietin-1-coupled alginate hydrogel

• Published in: International journal of biological macromolecules 2022-06, Vol.209 (Pt B), p.1893-1899
• Main Authors: Lee, Jae Won, Kim, Hyun Seung, Yon, Soo-Jeong, Matsumoto, Takuya, Lee, Sang-Kyung, Lee, Kuen Yong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alginate hydrogel; Alginates - metabolism; Angiopoietin-1; Angiopoietin-1 - metabolism; Animals; Hematopoietic stem cell; Hematopoietic Stem Cells - metabolism; Hydrogels - metabolism; Hydrogels - pharmacology; Mice; Stem Cell Niche; Synthetic niche
• ISSN: 0141-8130; 1879-0003
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.04.163

Stem cells exist and maintain their quiescence and pluripotency in stem cell niche. Here, we hypothesized that regulation of cell-cell interactions using a polymeric scaffold as synthetic extracellular matrix (ECM) could be critical in creating a hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) niche in vitro. Angiopoietin-1 (Ang1) binds to the tyrosine kinase receptor (Tie2), and regulation of the Tie2/Ang1 interaction is important in maintaining the quiescence of HSCs in vivo. Alginate hydrogel was thus modified with Ang1 as a synthetic ECM to mimic the HSC niche. Long-term HSCs (CD34−, CD135−, and CD150+) were isolated from mouse femurs and cultured on Ang1-modified alginate hydrogel. The percentage of LT-HSCs in G0 phase was 46.8 ± 1.8%, which was comparable to that of LT-HSCs co-cultured with osteoblasts (46.8 ± 2.1%). Ang1-coupled alginate gels were useful to provide a niche for HSC quiescence without a co-culture system. Polymeric scaffolds containing biomimetic and cell-instructive characteristics for stem cell phenotype regulation might help create HSC niches in vitro and be useful to engineer tissues and transplant stem cells.