Human pluripotent stem (hPS) cells show attractive properties for  regenerative medicine, developmental biology, and drug discovery. To  unlock their promise, defined conditions are needed to promote their  self-renewal and direct their differentiation. The molecular rationale  for current culture conditions is poorly defined, especially the  substrata hPS cells adhere to and use to sense their environment. To  study the role of adhesion in stem cell self-renewal and  differentiation, we synthesized chemically defined surfaces displaying  ligands targeted to cell surface adhesion receptors. We focused our  efforts on the integrin family of surface receptors and were able to  synthesize peptidomimetic ligands targeting specific integrins. Surfaces  displaying these highly selective small molecules were used to study  the factors controlling  pluripotent stem cell viability and  differentiation. These studies offer a much needed insight into the  molecular mechanism of stem cell self-renewal.

Peptidomimetic ligands targeting specific integrins to study human pluripotent stem cell adhesion and self-renewal

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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