A 3D engineered scaffold for hematopoietic progenitor/stem cell co-culture in vitro
Dezhi Zhou, Lidan Chen, Jinju Ding, Xiuxiu Zhang, Zhenguo Nie, Xinda Li, Bin Yang, Tao Xu
Abstract
Abstract Proliferation of HPSCs in vitro can promote its broad clinical therapeutic use. For in vitro co-culture, interaction between the stem cell and feeder cell as well as their spatial position are essential. To imitate the natural microenvironment, a 3D engineered scaffold for CD34 + cells co-culture was established via 3D bioprinting. Herein, the concentration of hydrogel and the ratio of two kinds of cells were optimized. Flow cytometry, real time PCR and RNA-seq technology were applied to analyze the effect of the engineered scaffold on expanded cells. After 10 days co-culture with the engineered scaffold, the expansion of CD34 + CD38 − cells can reach 33.57-folds and the expansion of CD34 + CD184 + cells can reach 16.66-folds. Result of PCR and RNA-seq indicates that the CD34 + cells in 3D group exhibited a tendency of interaction with the engineered scaffold. Compared to 2D co-culture, this customizable 3D engineered scaffold can provide an original and integrated environment for HPSCs growth. Additionally, this scaffold can be modified for different cell co-culture or cell behavior study.