Abstract
Current stem cell therapy suffers low efficiency in giving rise to differentiated cell lineages, which can replace the original damaged cells. Nanomaterials, on the other hand, provide unique physical size, surface chemistry, conductivity, and topographical microenvironment to regulate stem cell differentiation through multidimensional approaches to facilitate gene delivery, cell–cell, and cell–ECM interactions. In this review, nanomaterials are demonstrated to work both alone and synergistically to guide selective stem cell differentiation. From three different nanotechnology families, three approaches are shown: (1) soluble microenvironmental factors; (2) insoluble physical microenvironment; and (3) nano-topographical features. As regenerative medicine is heavily invested in effective stem cell therapy, this review is inspired to generate discussions in the potential clinical applications of multi-dimensional nanomaterials.
Highlights
A major drawback in current stem cell therapy is the limited control over stem cell fate, which leads to low efficiency in giving rise to mature differentiated cells that can replace the original damaged cells [1, 2]
A nanoparticle-based stem cell differentiation system with the ability to interact with cellular processes and deliver regulatory molecules remotely on demand would be of significance for translating the current research to the stage
We have proposed that such effective control over oligodendrocyte differentiation and development originate from integrin-mediated pathways, mainly FAK, Akt, ILK and Fyn
Summary
A major drawback in current stem cell therapy is the limited control over stem cell fate, which leads to low efficiency in giving rise to mature differentiated cells that can replace the original damaged cells [1, 2]. Small molecule dosing and genetic manipulation are significant for directing stem cell fate in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine [14] With this merit, Lee et al demonstrated the co-delivery of small molecules and RNA interference agents to differentiate neural stem cells into neurons using a single vehicle delivery system based on the cyclodextrin-modified dendritic polyamine. A nanoparticle-based stem cell differentiation system with the ability to interact with cellular processes and deliver regulatory molecules remotely on demand would be of significance for translating the current research to the stage Development of such nanomaterials with desirable degradability would be a key step for the advancement in clinical applications of nanoparticlebased stem cell therapy and tissue engineering
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