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Extracellular Matrix Stiffness Modulates the Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells
Lü Hongwei1, 2, Li Lisha1*, Zhang Yin1,2, Rong Yue1,3, Chen Zhishen1,3, Yang Zihao1,2, Sun Meiyu1, Li Yulin1*
1The Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China; 2College of Public Health,Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China; 3College of Clinical Medicine, Jilin University, C
Abstract: Recent studies have suggested that the physical characteristics of extracellular matrix (ECM)，especially the stiffness or elasticity， played an important role in regulating cellular functions and behaviors，including adhesion， spreading， migration， proliferation， differentiation， apoptosis and so on. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are important for cell therapy and tissue engineering. ECM stiffness can induce MSCs into cells of adipose tissue， cartilage， nerve， muscle， bone and others. This review discussed the studies of the effect of ECM stiffness on stem cell lineage specification， covering the materials and techniques to fabricate substrates， methods of controlling stiffness， properties， the response to ECM stiffness and the differentiation of stem cells in different culture conditions， as well as the combined effect of ECM stiffness and other biophysical and biochemical cues;On this basis， we further shed light on the mechanism and the signaling pathway of the reaction of stem cells to ECM stiffness and transduction of stiffness to biological signals during differentiation. This review summarized the latest research advancement in the field of differentiation behavior of stem cells modulated by ECM stiffness and presented a relatively systematic analysis of the major factors in the level of materials science， cell biology and molecular biology， as well as the prospects of some key problems to be studied in this field.
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