Poly(D,L lactic-co-glycolic acid) microspheres as biodegradable microcarriers for pluripotent stem cells

The pluripotent nature and proliferative capacity of embryonic stem cells makes them an attractive cell source for tissue engineering and regeneration. In our study we investigated the use of poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microspheres as biodegradable microcarriers of pluripotent cells and as delivery systems of bioactive factors, which influence cell differentiation. The pluripotent P19 embryonal carcinoma cell line was used as a model to study cell attachment, growth and differentiation of pluripotent stem cells on PLGA microspheres. Retinoic acid (RA) was encapsulated in the PLGA microcarriers to influence cell differentiation-more specifically, to induce P19 cell differentiation into neurons. The results revealed that P19 cells attach and grow on the surface of the RA loaded PLGA microspheres. Moreover, the RA loaded PLGA microspheres were shown to be as effective as soluble RA at inducing P19 cell differentiation into neurons. Hence, the results of these ex vivo studies clearly demonstrate the capacity of PLGA microspheres to serve a dual role as both delivery systems of bioactive factors and as scaffolds for pluripotent cells. More importantly, our study demonstrates the potential use of PLGA microspheres as transplantation matrices of pluripotent stem cells for tissue engineering and regeneration.