Exploring the Mechanisms Regulating Toroid Formation by Adipose-Derived Stem Cells Cultured on 3D Collagen Hydrogels
Poster Number
40
Faculty Mentor
Matthew Stern, Ph.D.; sternm@winthrop.edu
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Biology
Faculty Mentor
Matthew Stern, Ph.D.
Abstract
Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) are of therapeutic interest due to their great abundance and ease of accessibility relative to other types of stem cells. We observed that ADSCs migrate and self-organize into a toroid when applied to the top of a 3D Type I collagen hydrogel. ADSCs fail to form toroids when embedded within collagen hydrogels. This raises the question of what specific environmental factors and cellular mechanisms regulate toroid formation. The binding of the ligand CXCL12 to the chemokine receptor CXCR4 initiates chemotactic signals in ADSCs. The goal of this study is to determine if the CXCL12:CXCR4 signaling axis is essential to the migration and self-organization required for ADSCs to achieve toroid formation. We hypothesized that the binding of the ligand CXCL12 to the chemokine receptor CXCR4 is essential for toroid formation by the telomerase immortalized human ADSCs used in our culture model. To test our hypothesis, we compared toroid formation in ADSCs cultured in two concentrations of the selective CXCR4 inhibitor AMD3100 to control conditions. We used phase-contrast microscopy to qualitatively monitor toroid formation and integrated software to measure the geometry of any structures formed 24 hours after plating. We found that there were significant differences in the distribution of the types of geometries formed. Our results suggest a possible role for CXCL12:CXCR4 in toroid formation; however, additional testing is necessary. Future directions include testing different numbers and sources of ADSCs and using selective inhibitors of downstream pathways known to be important for cellular migration and self-organization.
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Grant Support
South Carolina EPSCoR/IDeA Collaborative Research Program
Type of Presentation
Poster presentation
Start Date
16-4-2021 12:30 PM
Exploring the Mechanisms Regulating Toroid Formation by Adipose-Derived Stem Cells Cultured on 3D Collagen Hydrogels
Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) are of therapeutic interest due to their great abundance and ease of accessibility relative to other types of stem cells. We observed that ADSCs migrate and self-organize into a toroid when applied to the top of a 3D Type I collagen hydrogel. ADSCs fail to form toroids when embedded within collagen hydrogels. This raises the question of what specific environmental factors and cellular mechanisms regulate toroid formation. The binding of the ligand CXCL12 to the chemokine receptor CXCR4 initiates chemotactic signals in ADSCs. The goal of this study is to determine if the CXCL12:CXCR4 signaling axis is essential to the migration and self-organization required for ADSCs to achieve toroid formation. We hypothesized that the binding of the ligand CXCL12 to the chemokine receptor CXCR4 is essential for toroid formation by the telomerase immortalized human ADSCs used in our culture model. To test our hypothesis, we compared toroid formation in ADSCs cultured in two concentrations of the selective CXCR4 inhibitor AMD3100 to control conditions. We used phase-contrast microscopy to qualitatively monitor toroid formation and integrated software to measure the geometry of any structures formed 24 hours after plating. We found that there were significant differences in the distribution of the types of geometries formed. Our results suggest a possible role for CXCL12:CXCR4 in toroid formation; however, additional testing is necessary. Future directions include testing different numbers and sources of ADSCs and using selective inhibitors of downstream pathways known to be important for cellular migration and self-organization.
