Cell-imprinted substrates direct the fate of stem cells.

Abstract

Smart nanoenvironments were obtained by cell-imprinted substrates based on mature and dedifferentiated chondrocytes as templates. Rabbit adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) seeded on these cell-imprinted substrates were driven to adopt the specific shape (as determined in terms of cell morphology) and molecular characteristics (as determined in terms of gene expression) of the cell types which had been used as template for the cell-imprinting. This method might pave the way for a reliable, efficient, and cheap way of controlling stem cell differentiation. Data also suggest that besides residual cellular fragments, which are presented on the template surface, the imprinted topography of the templates plays a role in the differentiation of the stem cells.