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Agarose microgel culture delineates lumenogenesis in naive and primed human pluripotent stem cells.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

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Authors

Schindler, Magdalena 
Siriwardena, Dylan 
Kohler, Timo N 
Ellermann, Anna L 
Slatery, Erin 

Abstract

Human periimplantation development requires the transformation of the naive pluripotent epiblast into a polarized epithelium. Lumenogenesis plays a critical role in this process, as the epiblast undergoes rosette formation and lumen expansion to form the amniotic cavity. Here, we present a high-throughput in vitro model for epiblast morphogenesis. We established a microfluidic workflow to encapsulate human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) into monodisperse agarose microgels. Strikingly, hPSCs self-organized into polarized epiblast spheroids that could be maintained in self-renewing and differentiating conditions. Encapsulated primed hPSCs required Rho-associated kinase inhibition, in contrast to naive hPSCs. We applied microgel suspension culture to examine the lumen-forming capacity of hPSCs and reveal an increase in lumenogenesis during the naive-to-primed transition. Finally, we demonstrate the feasibility of co-encapsulating cell types across different lineages and species. Our work provides a foundation for stem cell-based embryo models to interrogate the critical components of human epiblast self-organization and morphogenesis.

Description

Keywords

epiblast, epiblast spheroid, human development, lumenogenesis, microfluidic platform, microgel suspension culture, naive pluripotency, primed pluripotency, self-organization, Cell Culture Techniques, Cell Differentiation, Cell Lineage, Cell Survival, Cells, Immobilized, Germ Layers, Humans, Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, Microgels, Morphogenesis, Protein Kinase Inhibitors, Sepharose, Spheroids, Cellular, rho-Associated Kinases

Journal Title

Stem Cell Reports

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2213-6711
2213-6711

Volume Title

16

Publisher

Elsevier BV
Sponsorship
Wellcome Trust (206684/Z/17/Z)
Medical Research Council (MC_PC_17230)