Physical cues help mature cells revert into embryonic-like stem cells

October 22, 2013

Bioengineers at the University of California, Berkeley, have shown that physical cues can replace certain chemicals when nudging mature cells back to a pluripotent stage, capable of becoming any cell type in the body.  The researchers grew fibroblasts – cells taken from human skin and mouse ears – on surfaces with parallel grooves measuring 10 micrometers wide and 3 micrometers high. After two weeks of culture in a special cocktail used to reprogram mature cells, the researchers found a four-fold increase in the number of cells that reverted back to an embryonic-like state compared with cells grown on a flat surface. Growing cells in scaffolds of nanofibers aligned in parallel had similar effects. (Phys.org)