Extracellular Matrix (ECM)-Based Cell Carriers for Natural Bioactive Microenvironment

In the development of cell carriers, there is a great importance to use materials, which will maintain and support cell viability and function. Hence, bioactive materials and biomimetic structures can mimic the natural cell environment and critically affect the function and fate of cells. Extracellular matrix (ECM), which is the natural cell environment within tissues, is a complex mixture of structural and functional proteins that can be used in diverse biomedical applications where mechanical and biological support is required. We, therefore, hypothesized that a cell carrier comprised of porcine acellular ECM (pECM) will successfully support the culture and differentiation of multipotent and pluripotent stem cells.

For this purpose, porcine cardiac tissue was decellularized and solubilized using a combination of chemical, biological and physical means. Then, we have developed a technology to produce microscale carriers, which are comprised solely from the pECM using a tailor-made electrostatic bead generator. The produced carriers were characterized, revealing a spherical shape, and an average diameter of 100 mm, while their mechanical stability was verified in a 2-months study.

Upon seeding of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), the pECM-based carriers supported the cell viability and proliferation along four weeks, thus preserving their multipotent characteristics. For the cardiac differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), cells were seeded on carriers made of cardiac pECM and four weeks later, their spontaneous differentiation towards the cardiac lineage has significantly enhanced.

To conclude, the development of pECM-based cell carrier benefits the unique tissue-specific bioactivity of the matrix to generate a natural-supportive bed, which offers the cells beneficial conditions promoting their desired function.