The Role of Extracellular Matrix in Human Pluripotent Cells Differentiation into Ectodermal Derivatives

Abstract

One of the most important events in the embryonic development of mammals is the division of the ectoderm into integumentary and neuroectoderm. Signaling cascades induced by growth factors and cytokines involved in these processes have been studied in detail in recent decades. At the same time, the contribution of extracellular matrix (ECM) to these differentiation lineages remains unknown for mammals, while the significance of ECM in this process has been shown in other model organisms. To assess the effect of ECM on the formation of ectodermal derivatives, we modeled the neural and epidermal differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) using substrates consisting of various ECM molecules; and also studied the involvement of one of the central links of the ECM signaling cascades, a transcriptional coactivator YAP1 in differentiation processes. Our results revealed the stimulatory effect of laminin 332 on the early stages of epidermal differentiation and of type I and III collagens on the inducing of the glial fate of late neural differentiation.