Biomimetic 3D bacterial cellulose-graphene foam hybrid scaffold regulates neural stem cell proliferation and differentiation.

Li J

Guo R(1), Li J(2), Chen C(3), Xiao M(4), Liao M(5), Hu Y(5), Liu Y(5), Li D(6), Zou J(7), Sun D(3), Torre V(8), Zhang Q(9), Chai R(10), Tang M(11).
Author information:
(1)School of Radiation Medicine and Protection and School for Radiological and Interdisciplinary Sciences
(RAD-X), Collaborative Innovation Center of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, China; Yunnan Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Institute of Primate Translational Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan, 650500, China; Key Laboratory for Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China; Co-innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, Nantong, 226001, China.
(2)Key Laboratory for Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China.
(3)Institute of Chemicobiology and Functional Materials, Key Laboratory for Soft Chemistry and Functional Materials of Ministry Education, School of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, 200 Xiao Ling Wei Street, Nanjing, 210094, Jiangsu Province, China.
(4)Institute for Cardiovascular Science & Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital, Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215000, China; International School for Advanced Studies
(SISSA), via Bonomea 265, Trieste, 34136, Italy.
(5)Key Laboratory for Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China; Co-innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, Nantong, 226001, China.
(6)State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Jiangsu Province High-Tech Key Laboratory for Bio-Medical Research, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China; Key Laboratory for Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China.
(7)Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, 188 Shizi Street, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215006, China.
(8)International School for Advanced Studies
(SISSA), via Bonomea 265, Trieste, 34136, Italy.
(9)School of Radiation Medicine and Protection and School for Radiological and Interdisciplinary Sciences
(RAD-X), Collaborative Innovation Center of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, China. Electronic address: [Email]
(10)Key Laboratory for Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China; Co-innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, Nantong, 226001, China; Institute for Stem Cell and Regeneration, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Neural Regeneration and Repair, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100069, China. Electronic address: [Email]
(11)Key Laboratory for Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China; Co-innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, Nantong, 226001, China; Institute for Cardiovascular Science & Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital, Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215000, China. Electronic address: [Email]

https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfb.2021.111590

Neural stem cell (NSC)-based therapy is a promising candidate for treating neurodegenerative diseases and the preclinical researches call an urgent need for regulating the growth and differentiation of such cells. The recognition that three-dimensional culture has the potential to be a biologically significant system has stimulated an extraordinary impetus for scientific researches in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Here, A novel scaffold for culturing NSCs, three-dimensional bacterial cellulose-graphene foam (3D-BC/G), which was prepared via in situ bacterial cellulose interfacial polymerization on the skeleton surface of porous graphene foam has been reported. 3D-BC/G not only supports NSC growth and adhesion, but also maintains NSC stemness and enhances their proliferative capacity. Further phenotypic analysis indicated that 3D-BC/G induces NSCs to selectively differentiate into neurons, forming a neural network in a short amount of time. The scaffold has good biocompatibility with primary cortical neurons enhancing the neuronal network activities. To explore the underlying mechanisms, RNA-Seq analysis to identify genes and signaling pathways was performed and it suggests that 3D-BC/G offers a more promising three-dimensional conductive substrate for NSC research and neural tissue engineering, and the repertoire of gene expression serves as a basis for further studies to better understand NSC biology.