Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2015, Vol. 10 ›› Issue (9): 1523-1527.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.165527

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Elastic modulus affects the growth and differentiation of neural stem cells

Xian-feng Jiang1, Kai Yang1, 2, Xiao-qing Yang1, Ying-fu Liu3, Yuan-chi Cheng1, 2, Xu-yi Chen1, Yue Tu1   

  1. 1 Affiliated Hospital of Logistics University of People’s Armed Police Force, Tianjin, China
    2 Liaoning Medical University, Jinzhou, Liaoning Province, China
    3 Logistics University of People’s Armed Police Force, Tianjin, China
  • Received:2015-06-26 Online:2015-09-28 Published:2015-09-28
  • Contact: Yue Tu, M.D. or Xu-yi Chen, M.D., ytumail@vip.126.com or chenxuyi1979@126.com.
  • Supported by:

    This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation (Youth Project) of China, No. 11102235; a grant from the Key Project of Tianjin Science and Technology Support Plan in China, No. 14ZCZDGX00500; the Key Project of Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin City of China, No. 12JCZDJC24100; the Science and Technology Foundation Project of Tianjin Municipal Health Bureau of China, No. 2013KZ134, 2014KZ135; the Seed Foundation Project of Affiliated Hospital of Logistics University of People’s Armed Police Force of China, No. FYM201432.

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Abstract:

It remains poorly understood if carrier hardness, elastic modulus, and contact area affect neural stem cell growth and differentiation. Tensile tests show that the elastic moduli of Tiansu and SMI silicone membranes are lower than that of an ordinary dish, while the elastic modulus of SMI silicone membrane is lower than that of Tiansu silicone membrane. Neural stem cells from the cerebral cortex of embryonic day 16 Sprague-Dawley rats were seeded onto ordinary dishes as well as Tiansu silicone membrane and SMI silicone membrane. Light microscopy showed that neural stem cells on all three carriers show improved adherence. After 7 days of differentiation, neuron specific enolase, glial fibrillary acidic protein, and myelin basic protein expression was detected by immunofluorescence. Moreover, flow cytometry revealed a higher rate of neural stem cell differentiation into astrocytes on Tiansu and SMI silicone membranes than on the ordinary dish, which was also higher on the SMI than the Tiansu silicone membrane. These findings confirm that all three cell carrier types have good biocompatibility, while SMI and Tiansu silicone membranes exhibit good mechanical homogenization. Thus, elastic modulus affects neural stem cell differentiation into various nerve cells. Within a certain range, a smaller elastic modulus results in a more obvious trend of cell differentiation into astrocytes. 

Key words: nerve regeneration, neural stem cells, carrier, mechanical properties, elastic modulus, cell differentiation, neurons, immunofluorescence, astrocytes, neural regeneration