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Updated: Oct 4, 2025

Generating a Fractal Microstructure of Laminin-111 to Signal to Cells
Published on: September 28, 2020
Laminin 411 mediates endothelial specification via multiple signaling axes that converge on β-catenin
Mikayla L Hall1, Sophie Givens1, Natasha Santosh2
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, 7-130 Nils Hasselmo Hall, 312 Church St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Stem Cell Institute, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
Abstract:
The extracellular matrix (ECM) provides essential cues to promote endothelial specification during tissue development in vivo; correspondingly, ECM is considered essential for endothelial differentiation outside of the body. However, systematic studies to assess the precise contribution of individual ECM proteins to endothelial differentiation have not been conducted. Further, the multi-component nature of differentiation protocols makes it challenging to study the underlying mechanisms by which the ECM contributes to cell fate. In this study, we determined that Laminin 411 alone increases endothelial differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells over collagen I or Matrigel. The effect of ECM was shown to be independent of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) binding capacity. We also show that ECM-guided endothelial differentiation is dependent on activation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK), integrin-linked kinase (ILK), Notch, and β-catenin pathways. Our results indicate that ECM contributes to endothelial differentiation through multiple avenues, which converge at the expression of active β-catenin.
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