Biofunctionalized self-assembly of peptide amphiphile induces the differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells into neural cells

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) are multipotential differentiation cells which can differentiate into different cell types such as osteoblasts, chondrocytes, adipocytes, cardiomyocytes, hepatocytes, endothelial cells, and neuronal cells. Such multipotential differentiation makes them attractive for stem cell-based therapy aimed at treating previously incurable disorders. In the present work, we encapsulated BMSCs into a hydrogel with a three-dimensional (3D) network of nanofibers, formed from self-assembling of peptide amphiphile. The self-assembling of peptide amphiphile into hydrogel was triggered by mixing cell suspensions with dilute aqueous solutions of amphipathic peptide. Moreover, this hydrogel was designed to present cells the neurite-promoting laminin epitope IKVAV at nearly van der Waals density, which induced the successful differentiation of BMSCs into neural cells.