Surface modification with E-cadherin fusion protein for mesenchymal stem cell culture

To effectively expand human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) in vitro without affecting their innate biological properties, a fusion protein (hE-cad-Fc) consisting of a human E-cadherin extracellular domain and an immunoglobulin G Fc region was fabricated and used as a biomimetic matrix for MSC culture surface modification. The results showed that cells cultured on hE-cad-Fc-modified polystyrene surfaces exhibited improved proliferation and paracrine functions compared with cells cultured on unmodified and collagen-modified polystyrene surfaces. Meanwhile, surfaces modified with hE-cad-Fc effectively inhibited cell apoptosis even under the serum deprivation conditions. Additionally, the hE-cad-Fc not only up-regulated the expression of β-catenin in MSCs and stimulated the cellular membrane complex of E-cadherin/β-catenin, but also effectively activated the intracellular signals such as EGFR, AKT and ERK phosphorylation. Therefore, hE-cad-Fc appeared to be a promising candidate for biological surface modification and stem cell culture.