AVS 59th Annual International Symposium and Exhibition
    Biomaterial Interfaces Monday Sessions
       Session BI-MoA

Invited Paper BI-MoA1
3D Niche Microarrays for Systems-Level Analyses of Stem Cell Fate

Monday, October 29, 2012, 2:00 pm, Room 23

Session: Cell-Surface Interactions: High Throughput Methodologies
Presenter: M. Lutolf, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland
Authors: A. Ranga, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland
M. Lutolf, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland
Correspondent: Click to Email
Proper tissue maintenance and regeneration relies on intricate spatial and temporal control of biochemical and biophysical microenvironmental (or ‘niche’) cues, instructing stem cells to acquire particular fates, for example remaining quiescent or undergoing self-renewal divisions. Despite rapid progress in the identification of relevant niche proteins and signaling pathways using powerful in vivo models, many stem cell types cannot be efficiently cultured in vitro. To address this challenge, we have been developing b iomaterial-based approaches to display stem cell regulatory signals in a precise and near-physiological fashion, serving as powerful artificial microenvironments to probe and manipulate stem cell fate. In this talk I will discuss recent efforts in my laboratory to develop three-dimensional microarrayed artificial niches based on a combination of biomolecular hydrogel engineering and liquid handling robotics. This platform allows key biochemical and biophysical characteristics of stem cell niches to be mimicked and the physiological complexity deconstructed into a smaller, experimentally amenable number of distinct signaling interactions. The systematic deconstruction of a stem cell niche may serve as a broadly applicable paradigm for defining and reconstructing artificial niches to accelerate the transition of stem cell biology to the clinic.