Human Neural Stem Cell Expansion in Natural Polymer Scaffolds Under Chemically Defined Condition

• Published in: Advanced biology 2024-10, Vol.8 (10), p.e2400224-n/a
• Main Authors: Chang, Fei‐Chien, James, Matthew Michael, Zhou, Yang, Ando, Yoshiki, Zareie, Hadi M., Yang, Jihui, Zhang, Miqin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: alginate; Alginates - chemistry; Alginates - pharmacology; Cell Culture Techniques - methods; Cell Differentiation - drug effects; Cell Proliferation - drug effects; Cells, Cultured; chitosan; Chitosan - chemistry; Chitosan - pharmacology; Collagen; Glucuronic Acid - chemistry; Glucuronic Acid - pharmacology; Humans; hyaluronic acid; Hyaluronic Acid - chemistry; Hyaluronic Acid - pharmacology; neural stem cell; Neural Stem Cells - cytology; Neural Stem Cells - drug effects; Tissue Engineering - methods; Tissue Scaffolds - chemistry
• ISSN: 2701-0198; 2701-0198
• DOI: 10.1002/adbi.202400224

The maintenance and expansion of human neural stem cells (hNSCs) in 3D tissue scaffolds is a promising strategy in producing cost‐effective hNSCs with quality and quantity applicable for clinical applications. A few biopolymers have been extensively used to fabricate 3D scaffolds, including hyaluronic acid, collagen, alginate, and chitosan, due to their bioactive nature and availability. However, these polymers are usually applied in combination with other biomolecules, leading to their responses difficult to ascribe to. Here, scaffolds made of chitosan, alginate, hyaluronic acid, or collagen, are explored for hNSC expansion under xeno‐free and chemically defined conditions and compared for hNSC multipotency maintenance. This study shows that the scaffolds made of pure chitosan support the highest adhesion and growth of hNSCs, yielding the most viable cells with NSC marker protein expression. In contrast, the presence of alginate, hyaluronic acid, or collagen induces differentiation toward immature neurons and astrocytes even in the maintenance medium and absence of differentiation factors. The cells in pure chitosan scaffolds preserve the level of transmembrane protein profile similar to that of standard culture. These findings point to the potential of using pure chitosan scaffolds as a base scaffolding material for hNSC expansion in 3D. hNSC growth and response are investigated in porous tissue scaffolds made of chitosan, hyaluronic acid, alginate, or collagen, which are among the most widely used biopolymers for medical devices to elucidate the best material for growing hNSCs. These findings point to the potential of using pure chitosan scaffolds for scalable 3D expansion of hNSCs.