부산대학교 도서관

Embryonic stem cells (ESC) have been explored as tools forstudying development, as well as, potential sources for a large numberof therapies in regenerative medicine. Traditionally, ESC are culturedon tissue culture plastic, however; it has been recently shown that thestiffness of the environmental substrate can direct the cells towardsvarious cell lineages. Our laboratory is specifically interested in examiningthe combined roles of biochemical and physical signaling incardiac and vascular cell fate and patterning these vascular cells intovascular branch-like tress.Using our novel mouse ESC that expresses aGFP reporter under the Tie-2 and an RFP reporter under alpha smoothmuscle actin and serum-free inductionmediums, we examined the roleof stiffness in the diverging fate of Flk-1 + vascular progenitor cells.The results indicate that both of the Flk-1 + vascular progenitor cellsand human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) preferentiallyadhere to 10 kPa compared with the 1 kPa, and 34 kPa compared withthe 10 kPa. We also observed both the GFP/Tie-2 + endothelial-likeand RFP + smooth muscle-like cells outgrowths from the Flk-1 +cells, with the GFP/Tie-2 + cells dominating the cultures, supportingthe role of stiffness in vascular fate. Next, we generated a vascularfractal-like pattern reverse mold and have stamped fibronectin vascularpattern onto non-tissue culture treated plastic. Using these combinedtechnologies, we have been able to genera