Using Bioactive
Hydrogels for the Control of Mesenchymal Stem Cell
Differentiation
My goal is to develop a novel bioactive material platform to
facilitate the differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) into
chondrocytes, a phenotype that produces cartilage tissue in vivo. Several growth
factors have been shown to induce this differentiation in two-dimensional
culture conditions. I am investigating peptide sequences that bind and activate
these growth factors in gels that can be used to encapsulate hMSCs.
I am also doing studies to optimize the dosing of these growth factors in
three-dimensional culture conditions to determine the concentration and temporal
exposure levels that best induce chondrogenesis. By incorporating
biologically-cleavable links to peptide binding sequences, temporal exposure of
hMSCs to these growth factors is tailorable, giving us control of their
differentiation. I can then incorporate these biologically-cleavable peptide
cues into a gel that is designed to degrade at a rate approximately equal to the
rate of cartilage tissue genesis, removing the synthetic scaffold to leave only
new tissue.
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