A micro/nanoscale surface mechanical study on morpho-functional changes in multilineage-differentiated human mesenchymal stem cells

In recent years MSCs have become a very attractive tool in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine because of their ability to be committed along several lineages through chemical or physical stimuli. Nevertheless their therapeutic potential and plasticity are not yet totally understood. This report describes the use of AFM together with conventional microscopies to obtain mechanical information on cell surfaces and deposited extra cellular matrix molecules, after inducing the differentiation of human MSCs towards three typical mesoderm phenotypes. The aim is to correlate morphological, functional, and mechanical aspects of human MSCs to obtain a deeper understanding of their great potential.