A technology has been developed that can improve the problem in which stem cells, when administered into the body, do not survive long and therefore have limited therapeutic effects.
A research team led by Jeon Sang-yong, a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, said on the 29th that it developed a new three-dimensional culture technology that can enhance the function of human adipose-derived stem cells. The study was published online in March in the international journal "Advanced Science."
Human adipose-derived stem cells can be obtained from adipose tissue, making collection relatively easy, and they have excellent proliferation capacity and low immunogenicity. For this reason, they have drawn attention as promising therapeutic cells in regenerative medicine and cell therapy. However, in conventional two-dimensional monolayer culture, the longer the culture time, the more the stem cells aged and lost their original function.
To address this, studies have continued to grow stem cells in three-dimensional structures, but it has still been difficult for the cells to survive long enough after transplantation in the body or to stably maintain their functions.
The team applied a synthetic polymer matrix to the surface of the cell culture substrate to induce stem cells, instead of adhering and growing on a plane, to self-organize into three-dimensional cell aggregates, or spheroids (cell aggregates). The synthetic polymer used was a biocompatible polymer composed of silicon and oxygen in a densely consolidated siloxane form, which the team named "poly-Z."
Poly-Z adjusts the physicochemical properties of the culture substrate surface so that albumin proteins in the cell culture medium adsorb well to the surface. In this process, stem cells do not stick to the bottom but cluster together to form three-dimensional spheroids through self-assembly.
In particular, stem cell spheroids produced in the poly-Z-based environment showed increased production of extracellular matrix that supports the cells. This means it is not simply a mass of cells, but an environment around the cells similar to that in the body.
Experiments showed that stem cells cultured by this method had improved differentiation capacity and immunomodulatory ability compared with conventional methods. Their survival time in the body also increased significantly. In animal models of acute colitis and acute liver injury, they showed better therapeutic effects than those from conventional stem cell culture methods.
The research team explained that even with the same dose of stem cells, if they survive longer and act more actively in the body, therapeutic effects can be increased. This suggests the potential to overcome the problem of low survival rates, a key challenge in developing stem cell therapies.
Professor Jeon said, "This study is a result that shows a precise three-dimensional culture environment using synthetic polymers can enhance both the function and therapeutic efficacy of stem cells," and added, "We expect it will be widely used in developing next-generation stem cell therapies for various intractable diseases, including inflammatory disorders."
References
Advanced Science (2026), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202518704