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    Silk Hydrogel Substrate Stress Relaxation Primes Mesenchymal Stem Cell Behavior in 2D
    (Washington, DC : ACS Publications, 2021) Phuagkhaopong, Suttinee; Mendes, Luís; Müller, Katrin; Wobus, Manja; Bornhäuser, Martin; Carswell, Hilary V.O.; Duarte, Iola F.; Seib, F. Philipp
    Tissue-mimetic silk hydrogels are being explored for diverse healthcare applications, including stem cell delivery. However, the impact of stress relaxation of silk hydrogels on human mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) biology is poorly defined. The aim of this study was to fabricate silk hydrogels with tuned mechanical properties that allowed the regulation of MSC biology in two dimensions. The silk content and stiffness of both elastic and viscoelastic silk hydrogels were kept constant to permit direct comparisons. Gene expression of IL-1β, IL-6, LIF, BMP-6, BMP-7, and protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type C were substantially higher in MSCs cultured on elastic hydrogels than those on viscoelastic hydrogels, whereas this pattern was reversed for insulin, HNF-1A, and SOX-2. Protein expression was also mechanosensitive and the elastic cultures showed strong activation of IL-1β signaling in response to hydrogel mechanics. An elastic substrate also induced higher consumption of glucose and aspartate, coupled with a higher secretion of lactate, than was observed in MSCs grown on viscoelastic substrate. However, both silk hydrogels changed the magnitude of consumption of glucose, pyruvate, glutamine, and aspartate, and also metabolite secretion, resulting in an overall lower metabolic activity than that found in control cells. Together, these findings describe how stress relaxation impacts the overall biology of MSCs cultured on silk hydrogels. ©
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    Zebrafish In-Vivo Screening for Compounds Amplifying Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells: - Preclinical Validation in Human CD34+ Stem and Progenitor Cells
    (London : Nature Publishing Group, 2017) Arulmozhivarman, Guruchandar; Kräter, Martin; Wobus, Manja; Friedrichs, Jens; Bejestani, Elham Pishali; Müller, Katrin; Lambert, Katrin; Alexopoulou, Dimitra; Dahl, Andreas; Stöter, Martin; Bickle, Marc; Shayegi, Nona; Hampe, Jochen; Stölzel, Friedrich; Brand, Michael; von Bonin, Malte; Bornhäuser, Martin
    The identification of small molecules that either increase the number and/or enhance the activity of human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (hHSPCs) during ex vivo expansion remains challenging. We used an unbiased in vivo chemical screen in a transgenic (c-myb:EGFP) zebrafish embryo model and identified histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs), particularly valproic acid (VPA), as significant enhancers of the number of phenotypic HSPCs, both in vivo and during ex vivo expansion. The long-term functionality of these expanded hHSPCs was verified in a xenotransplantation model with NSG mice. Interestingly, VPA increased CD34+ cell adhesion to primary mesenchymal stromal cells and reduced their in vitro chemokine-mediated migration capacity. In line with this, VPA-treated human CD34+ cells showed reduced homing and early engraftment in a xenograft transplant model, but retained their long-term engraftment potential in vivo, and maintained their differentiation ability both in vitro and in vivo. In summary, our data demonstrate that certain HDACIs lead to a net expansion of hHSPCs with retained long-term engraftment potential and could be further explored as candidate compounds to amplify ex-vivo engineered peripheral blood stem cells.
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    Bone marrow niche-mimetics modulate HSPC function via integrin signaling
    (London : Nature Publishing Group, 2017) Kräter, Martin; Jacobi, Angela; Otto, Oliver; Tietze, Stefanie; Müller, Katrin; Poitz, David M.; Palm, Sandra; Zinna, Valentina M.; Biehain, Ulrike; Wobus, Manja; Chavakis, Triantafyllos; Werner, Carsten; Guck, Jochen; Bornhauser, Martin
    The bone marrow (BM) microenvironment provides critical physical cues for hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) maintenance and fate decision mediated by cell-matrix interactions. However, the mechanisms underlying matrix communication and signal transduction are less well understood. Contrary, stem cell culture is mainly facilitated in suspension cultures. Here, we used bone marrow-mimetic decellularized extracellular matrix (ECM) scaffolds derived from mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) to study HSPC-ECM interaction. Seeding freshly isolated HSPCs adherent (AT) and non-adherent (SN) cells were found. We detected enhanced expansion and active migration of AT-cells mediated by ECM incorporated stromal derived factor one. Probing cell mechanics, AT-cells displayed naïve cell deformation compared to SN-cells indicating physical recognition of ECM material properties by focal adhesion. Integrin αIIb (CD41), αV (CD51) and β3 (CD61) were found to be induced. Signaling focal contacts via ITGβ3 were identified to facilitate cell adhesion, migration and mediate ECM-physical cues to modulate HSPC function.