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Role of the extracellular matrix in regulating stem cell fate

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology volume 14, pages 467–473 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

The field of stem cells and regenerative medicine offers considerable promise as a means of delivering new treatments for a wide range of diseases. In order to maximize the effectiveness of cell-based therapies — whether stimulating expansion of endogenous cells or transplanting cells into patients — it is essential to understand the environmental (niche) signals that regulate stem cell behaviour. One of those signals is from the extracellular matrix (ECM). New technologies have offered insights into how stem cells sense signals from the ECM and how they respond to these signals at the molecular level, which ultimately regulate their fate.

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Figure 1: Different cell types interact with the ECM in various ways.
Figure 2: Stem cell responses on hydrogels of different stiffness and porosity.
Figure 3: Pathways regulating keratinocyte differentiation in response to environmental cues.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Wellcome Trust (to F.M.W.), the Medical Research Council (to F.M.W.), Leverhulme Trust (to W.T.S.H.) and the European Research Council (W.T.S.H.). They also thank all past and present members of their laboratories who have participated in their collaboration.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fiona M. Watt is at the King's College London Centre for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, 28th floor, Guy's Tower, Great Maze Pond, London SE1 9RT, UK.,

    Fiona M. Watt

  2. Wilhelm T. S. Huck is at the Radboud University Nijmegen, Institute for Molecules and Materials, Heijendaalsweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,

    Wilhelm T. S. Huck

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  1. Fiona M. Watt
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Correspondence to Fiona M. Watt or Wilhelm T. S. Huck.

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Glossary

Asymmetric cell division

A cell division that results in two daughter cells adopting different fates.

Articular cartilage

Cartilage that covers the ends of joints.

Elastic modulus

Mathematical description of the tendency of an object or substance to be deformed non-permanently when a force is applied to it.

Formins

A family of formin homology proteins that are involved in actin polymerization.

Fluorescence resonance energy transfer sensor

(FRET sensor). Tool that uses FRET to visualize protein interactions by light microscopy.

Linear elasticity theory

Mathematical study of how solid objects deform and become internally stressed under prescribed loading conditions.

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Watt, F., Huck, W. Role of the extracellular matrix in regulating stem cell fate. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 14, 467–473 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrm3620

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