Substrate-dependent Wnt signaling in MSC differentiation within biomaterial-derived 3D spheroids

A unique biomaterial-based system was developed to generate dynamic three-dimensional (3D) multicellular spheroids of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). MSCs were cultured on transparent membranes made of chitosan or those further grafted with hyaluronan (HA) in different densities. MSCs vigorously migrated and were self-assembled into highly mobile 3D spheroids with substrate-dependent upregulation of adhesion molecule N-cadherin. MSC spheroids showed increased expression of Wnt genes/proteins and substrate-dependent cell fate. The correlation of differentiation capacities with Wnt signaling and crosstalk with other pathways such as ERK1/2 or Smad2/3 were observed for MSC spheroids but not for the conventional 2D cultured cells. Wnt3a-mediated canonical Wnt signaling was more active for MSC spheroids derived on chitosan, which were prone to osteogenesis. Wnt5a-mediated non-canonical Wnt signaling was more active for MSC spheroids derived on HA-grafted chitosan, which were prone to chondrogenesis. In particular, the relative importance of Wnt5a-mediated non-canonical vs. Wnt3a-mediated canonical Wnt signals in determining the cell fate was controlled by the grafting density of HA on chitosan. Treatment with the inhibitor of canonical Wnt-associated signaling molecules suppressed the osteogenesis of MSC spheroids on chitosan. This study demonstrates that Wnt signaling of MSCs is distinct in 3D environment and is substrate-dependent. The convenient 3D platform may be used to examine the role of Wnt signaling in controlling MSC fate under different extracellular environments, and potentially applied to study stem cell behavior in regenerative medicine, normal development, and cancer.