Adipogenesis of murine embryonic stem cells in a three-dimensional culture system using electrospun polymer scaffolds

Xihai Kang, Yubing Xie*, Heather M. Powell, L. James Lee, Martha A. Belury, John J. Lannutti, Douglas A. Kniss

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

130 Scopus citations

Abstract

A mechanistic understanding of adipose tissue differentiation is critical for the treatment and prevention of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Conventional in vitro models of adipogenesis are preadipocytes or freshly isolated adipocytes grown in two-dimensional (2D) cultures. Optimal results using in vitro tissue culture models can be expected only when adipocyte models closely resemble adipose tissue in vivo. Thus the design of an in vitro three-dimensional (3D) model which faithfully mimics the in vivo environment is needed to effectively study adipogenesis. Pluripotent embryonic stem (ES) cells are a self-renewing cell type that can readily be differentiated into adipocytes. In this study, a 3D culture system was developed to mimic the geometry of adipose tissue in vivo. Murine ES cells were seeded into electrospun polycaprolactone scaffolds and differentiated into adipocytes in situ by hormone induction as demonstrated using a battery of gene and protein expression markers along with the accumulation of neutral lipid droplets. Insulin-responsive Akt phosphorylation, and β-adrenergic stimulation of cyclic AMP synthesis were demonstrated in ES cell-derived adipocytes. Morphologically, ES cell-derived adipocytes resembled native fat cells by scanning electron and phase contrast microscopy. This tissue engineered ES cell-matrix model has potential uses in drug screening and other therapeutic developments.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)450-458
Number of pages9
JournalBiomaterials
Volume28
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2007

Keywords

  • Adipose tissue engineering
  • Electrospinning
  • Morphogenesis
  • Polycaprolactone
  • Stem cell
  • Three-dimensional cell culture

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