Mesenchymal Stem Cells Proliferation on Konjac Glucomannan Microcarriers: Effect of Rigidity

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have attracted great attention as a source of cells for regenerative medicine owing to their self-renewal ability and multiple differentiation potential. However, the serious shortage of MSCs and the difficulty of maintaining the differentiation potential during culture in vitro limit their application. Microcarrier culture technology is an effective method to realize large-scale culture of MSCs, whereas the effect of microcarriers properties on MSCs proliferation and differentiation potential maintenance should be investigated. In this study, Konjac glucomannan (KGM) microcarriers with a wide range of rigidity from 0.2 MPa to 10 MPa were prepared using water-in-oil emulsion polymerization. It was found that the microcarriers rigidity had great influence on MSCs by regulating cell spreading rate. Rapid proliferation and good differentiation potential maintenance of MSCs were achieved on the intermediate rigidity about 2.51±0.65 MPa with the faster spreading rate of cells. As a result, MSCs on 2.51±0.65 MPa KGM microcarriers proliferated about 27 times, which was 1.7 times as much as MSCs cultured on the commercial microcarriers Cytodex-1. The differentiation potential was also improved about 3.2 times compared to Cytodex-1. Therefore, it is indispensable to regulate microcarriers rigidity, especially for application of MSCs.