Xeno-free culture and proliferation of hPSCs on 2D biomaterials.

Human pluripotent stem cells (human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs)) have unlimited proliferative potential, whereas adult stem cells such as bone marrow-derived stem cells and adipose-derived stem cells have problems with aging. When hPSCs are intended to be cultured on feeder-free or xeno-free conditions without utilizing mouse embryonic fibroblasts or human fibroblasts, they cannot be cultured on conventional tissue culture polystyrene dishes, as adult stem cells can be cultured but should be cultivated on material surfaces grafted or coated with (a) natural or recombinant extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, (b) ECM protein-derived peptides and specific synthetic polymer surfaces in xeno-free and/or chemically defined conditions. This review describes current developing cell culture biomaterials for the proliferation of hPSCs while maintaining the pluripotency and differentiation potential of the cells into 3 germ layers. Biomaterials for the cultivation of hPSCs without utilizing a feeder layer are essential to decrease the risk of xenogenic molecules, which contributes to the potential clinical usage of hPSCs. ECM proteins such as human recombinant vitronectin, laminin-511 and laminin-521 have been utilized instead of Matrigel for the feeder-free cultivation of hPSCs. The following biomaterials are also discussed for hPSC cultivation: (a) decellularized ECM, (b) peptide-grafted biomaterials derived from ECM proteins, (c) recombinant E-cadherin-coated surface, (d) polysaccharide-immobilized surface, (e) synthetic polymer surfaces with and without bioactive sites, (f) thermoresponsive polymer surfaces with and without bioactive sites, and (g) synthetic microfibrous scaffolds.

The situation of stomatological basic research supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China in the past decade / 中华口腔医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To review the situation of stomatological research projects supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and to analyze the status of stomatological research and obtained achievements in the past decade.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The internet-based science information system of NSFC together with Yearbook of Chinese Stomatology was served as the basis of data collection. All of the data were arranged and analyzed by Excel.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of 866 projects and 234.4054 billion Yuan were supported by NSFC during the past decade, and they were increasing continuously. The average supportive strength of each single project was also enhanced. The percentage of projects supported by the NSFC for young scientists accounted for the biggest proportion. The approved projects of stomatology were covering an increasingly wide area of the subjects. The projects number of different areas kept growing, and further investigations were done in these projects. The areas number were from 10 increasing to 26.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>With the support of NSFC, great progress has been made in stomatology, and the interdisciplinary research between stomatology and other disciplines is more active.</p>