Engineered Microenvironment for Manufacturing Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Stem Cell Biology
• Vascular Biology

Background:

• Human pluripotent stem cell-derived vascular smooth muscle cells (hPSC-VSMCs) are crucial for disease modeling, drug screening, cell therapies, and tissue engineering.
• Current methods face challenges in producing high quantities of hPSC-VSMCs efficiently.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a scalable manufacturing method for hPSC-VSMCs.
• To improve the efficiency, yield, and purity of hPSC-VSMC production.

Main Methods:

• Utilized alginate hydrogel microtubes (AlgTubes) to culture hPSC-VSMCs.
• AlgTubes protect cells from hydrodynamic stress and maintain a small cell mass (<400 μm) for efficient mass transport.
• Cultured cells within a supportive microenvironment provided by the AlgTubes.

Main Results:

• Achieved scalable manufacturing of hPSC-VSMCs in approximately 10 days.
• Obtained high viability, high purity, and high yield (∼5.0 × 10^8 cells/mL).
• AlgTube-generated VSMCs (AlgTube-VSMCs) showed similar overall phenotype and gene expression to 2D-cultured VSMCs, but with enhanced expression of vasculature development and angiogenesis genes.

Conclusions:

• Alginate hydrogel microtubes provide a scalable and efficient platform for hPSC-VSMC manufacturing.
• AlgTube-VSMCs exhibit distinct gene expression profiles favoring vascular development and angiogenesis compared to 2D-cultured cells.
• This method holds significant potential for advancing regenerative medicine and disease research.