1. Academic Validation
  2. Stemness Maintenance and Massproduction of Neural Stem Cells on Poly L-Lactic Acid Nanofibrous Membrane Based on Piezoelectriceffect

Stemness Maintenance and Massproduction of Neural Stem Cells on Poly L-Lactic Acid Nanofibrous Membrane Based on Piezoelectriceffect

  • Small. 2022 Apr;18(13):e2107236. doi: 10.1002/smll.202107236.
Xiheng Lu 1 Chunhui Sun 1 Lu Chen 2 Zhichao Feng 1 Haoyang Gao 1 Shuang Hu 1 Mengwei Dong 1 Jingang Wang 1 Weijia Zhou 1 Na Ren 1 Hengxing Zhou 2 Hong Liu 1 3
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Institute for Advanced Interdisciplinary Research (iAIR), University of Jinan, Jinan, 250022, China.
  • 2 Department of Orthopaedics, Shandong University Centre for Orthopaedics, Qilu Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 250012, China.
  • 3 State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, China.
Abstract

Neural stem cells (NSCs) therapy is promising for treating neurodegenerative disorders and neural injuries. However, the limited in vitro expansion, spontaneous differentiation, and decrease in stemness obstruct the acquisition of high quantities of NSCs, restricting the clinical application of cell-based therapies and tissue engineering. This article reports a facile method of promoting NSCs expansion and maintaining stemness using wireless electrical stimulation triggered by piezoelectric nanomaterials. A nanofibrous membrane of poly L-lactic acid (PLLA) is prepared by electrostatic spinning, and the favorable piezoelectric property of PLLA facilitates the freeing of electrons after transformation. These self-powered electric signals generated by PLLA significantly enhance NSCs proliferation. Further, an undifferentiated cellular state is maintained in the NSCs cultured on the surfaces of PLLA nanofibers exposed to ultrasonic vibration. In addition, the neural differentiation potencies and functions of NSCs expanded by piezoelectric-driven localized electricity are not attenuated. Moreover, cell stemness can be maintained by wireless electric stimulation. Taken together, the electronic signals mediated by PLLA nanofibers facilitate NSCs proliferation. This efficient and simple strategy can maintain the stemness of NSCs during proliferation, which is essential for their clinical application, and opens up opportunities for the mass production of NSCs for use in cell therapy.

Keywords

neural stem cells; piezoelectricity; poly L-lactic acid nanofibrous membranes; proliferation; stemness.

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