Temporal impact of substrate mechanics on differentiation of human embryonic stem cells to cardiomyocytes.

ABSTRACT: A significant clinical need exists to differentiate human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) into cardiomyocytes, enabling tissue modeling for in vitro discovery of new drugs or cell-based therapies for heart repair in vivo. Chemical and mechanical microenvironmental factors are known to impact the efficiency of stem cell differentiation, but cardiac differentiation protocols in hPSCs are typically performed on rigid tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS) surfaces, which do not present a physiological mechanical setting. To investigate the temporal effects of mechanics on cardiac differentiation, we cultured human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and their derivatives on polyacrylamide hydrogel substrates with a physiologically relevant range of stiffnesses. In directed differentiation and embryoid bod

SUBMITTER: Hazeltine LB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3889126 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature