<p>Stem cell technologies hold great
promise in solving problems within fields such as drug development,
regenerative medicine, and disease modeling. Stem cell engineering provides a
mechanism that will help stem cells achieve this promise. Currently, many applications
within tissue engineering are limited by a lack of ability to create accurate
micro-physiological structures that recapitulate multicellular tissue patterns <i>in
vivo</i>. Precise control of spatial and temporal signaling is desired to
perform concurrent differentiation to multiple cell types intentionally. The
OptoWnt construct, a novel optogenetic system activating the Wnt signaling pathway,
achieves precise spatiotemporal regulation, in pursuit of greater control in stem
cell differentiation. We utilize OptoWnt, to differentiate stem cells into cardiovascular
cells: endothelial progenitor cells and cardiomyocytes, valuable cell types for
designing microtissues. Endothelial
cells comprise the luminal lining of blood and lymphatic vessels, providing the
integral structure for distribution within the body, separating mobile and
stationary tissues. Cardiomyocytes provide the force required to pump blood
throughout the human body and are a highly desired cell type in regenerative
medicine.</p>
<p>In this project, we have applied
an optogenetic induced signaling pathway, OptoWnt, to differentiate human pluripotent
stem cells (hPSCs) into cardiovascular cells via light-induced activation of
Wnt signaling pathway. In the analysis of these cells and comparison to
previous small molecule approaches to cardiovascular cell differentiation, we
demonstrate the robustness of the optogenetic approach and similar efficiency
that it has with the small molecule approach. In short, we have further
demonstrated the utility and potential of optogenetic induction of
developmental pathways, via the OptoWnt construct.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:purdue.edu/oai:figshare.com:article/14515314 |
| Date | 29 April 2021 |
| Creators | Peter Benjamin Hellwarth (10223837) |
| Source Sets | Purdue University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis |
| Rights | CC BY 4.0 |
| Relation | https://figshare.com/articles/thesis/Optogenetic_Differentiation_of_Cardiovascular_Cells_from_Pluripotent_Stem_Cells/14515314 |
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