Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
provide certain microenvironments mimicking the structures and
physicochemical properties of ECM which are needed for supporting
the cell growth.
100 µm
Figure 1.1
SEM image, showing the surface of HA-polylysine
hydrogel. Reproduced with permission from W.M. Tian, S.P. Hou,
J. Ma, C.L. Zhang, Q.Y. Xu, I.S. Lee, H.D. Li, M. Spector and
F.Z. Cui,
Tissue Engineering
, 2005,
11
, 3-4, 513. ©2005, Mary
Ann Liebert Inc [20]
In fact, as a key component of the stem cell niche, the ECM is
just a kind of hydrogel and an inert scaffold [31]. In the CNS,
investigations by Franco and Müller [16, 32] showed that the
ECM critically influences cell fate, not just for cell adhesion and
migration, but also for regulation of cellular signal transduction
and the distribution and local concentration of growth and trophic
factors, which further regulate division or differentiation of stem cells.
Hence, HA hydrogels can mediate cell functions and tissue repair by
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