A study on the effects of polyethylene glycol hydrogel in survival and differentiation of neural stem cells derived bone marrow stromal cells

Cell therapies have attracted attention as treatments for central nervous system disorders. However, such research has been severely limited by poor cell survival. Cell carriers improve transplanted cell viability by providing protection following transplantation. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) hydrogels are ideal candidates for this purpose. In this study the survival rate and neural differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs) derived bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) were evaluated on PEG hydrogel. BMSCs were isolated from adult rats, passaged and cultured in MDEM/F12 containing B27, EGF and bFGF to generated NSCs, which were harvested to produce NSCs. Subsequently, NSCs encapsulated in 3D PEG hydrogel and cultured for 7 days. Here, we attempted to use live/dead assay kit for assessment of cell viability and differentiation was assessed by immunocytochemical analyses of neural marker expression. The results showed that NF68, NF160 and NF200 are highly expressed in NSCs after 7 days culture in 3D PEG hydrogel differentiation medium and viabilty of NSCs was about 98.24%, but GFAP and Nestin were highly expressed in 2D culture medium and viability of NSCs was about 71.70%. These findings suggest the importance of strategies to control the chemical microenvironment surrounding cells in three-dimensional biomaterials that are being designed as cell culture platforms.