Does patterning and high cell number help in this regard....on 2D system.
You could try using aligned nanofibers to induce a contractile phenotype. For example, we just published a paper, Evaluation of Changes in Morphology and Function of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived Cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) cultured on an Aligned-Nanofiber Cardiac Patch, using our aligned nanofiber coated multiwell plates.
I would suggest using conditioned medium from the cell type that you want. You will need to concentrate it 5-6 times, but it should work. Differentiated cells secrete paracrine factors that induce their respect progenitor cells to finalize the differentiation process.
Prerak, You haven't mentioned how you would check the contractile phenotype. In the past I had a chance to characterize the function of SMCs that were 'incorporated' into porcine vascular scaffold and then preconditioning in a bioreactor. For functional evaluation, the serum was excluded from the preconditioning medium at least 12 hours before the expo. Several factors in serum tend to 'enforce' proliferative phenotype and removal is essential to initiate functional phenotype in vitro. Using this protocol either contraction in organ chamber or imaging calcium flux in the SMCs loaded onto the scaffold could be imaged. It also depends on how you would like to check the function. The two that I have mentioned are good indicators of the function.
BTW this way of switching the phenotype also worked well in cultured SMCs n endothelial cells for me. The latter must be available in my literature.
Hope it helps and more technical questions are welcome.
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