3D spheroids culture on polymer-coated surface potentiate stem cell functions via enhanced cell-ECM interactions

The aggregation of MSCs into three-dimensional (3D) spheroids have been emerged as a promising therapeutic candidate for the treatment of a variety of diseases. In spite of numerous 3D culture methods suggested recently for MSCs spheroid generation, however, it is still elusive to fully reflect the real stem cell niches, majorly suffering from the lack of cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions within the 3D spheroids. In this study, we develop a simple but versatile method for generating human MSC (hMSC) spheroids by culturing the cells on a functional polymer film surface, poly (2, 4, 6, 8-tetravinyl-2, 4, 6, 8-tetramethyl cyclotetrasiloxane) (pV4D4). Interestingly, the pV4D4-coated surface allow a dynamic cell adhesion to polymer surface while developing the formation of 3D spheroids. The corresponding mechanotransduction promote the expression of the endogenous ECM and in turn, result in the remarkable improvement in the self-renewal ability, pro-angiogenic potency, and multi-lineage differentiat...