Abstract: Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are promising resources as cell-based therapies for the debilitating injuries caused by many neuro-degenerative diseases. However, controlling hPSC differentiation into lineage-specific neural cells is one of the most important problems needed to be addressed before their potential for neuro-regenerative medicine can be fully realized. A detailed insight into the functions of extracellular microenvironments and intrinsic cellular regulators which dynamically regulate the hPSC neurogenesis into neural/neuronal cells is a prerequisite for addressing the aforementioned challenges. However, functions of hPSC microenvironments are much more complicated to investigate because of our lack of knowledge about the multiple signals inducing differentiation and limited methods available for investigation. Therefore, the primary focus of our study is to develop innovative methods to identify optimal cues for hPSC differentiation into subtype specific neurons and genetic manipulation of hPSCs using non-viral siRNA based transfection tools. Our innovative approaches will allow for the establishment of novel cell-based assay tools and siRNA based genetic manipulation tools for selective and efficient neuro-differentiation of hPSCs. Moreover, efforts will be made to integrate these studies into one multianalytic microfluidics platform for synchronized control of microenvironmental cues and intrinsic cellular regulators synergistically. The PI's research experiences in nanoscale biomaterials, functional genomics, and stem cell biology and current interdisciplinary research programs aiming at investigating cellular interactions within microenvironments would be critical to develop the aforementioned/innovative tools. Public Health Relevance: Neuro-degenerative diseases (e.g. Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease) and spinal cord injury, affects about a few million Americans, who experience life-long debilitating paralysis or even death due to the injury. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the development of cell-based therapies for neuro-regenerative medicine, where human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are extremely promising resources for transplantation therapies as they possess the unique ability to self-renew and give rise to all somatic cell lineages. Goals of this proposed study is to develop innovative methods for identifying as well as understanding the temporal/spatial effects from microenvironmental cues and intrinsic cellular programs on growth, differentiation, and molecular specification of human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) differentiation into sub-type specific neurons.
| Rathnam, Christopher; Chueng, Sy-Tsong Dean; Yang, Letao et al. (2017) Advanced Gene Manipulation Methods for Stem Cell Theranostics. Theranostics 7:2775-2793 |
| Shah, Shreyas; Solanki, Aniruddh; Lee, Ki-Bum (2016) Nanotechnology-Based Approaches for Guiding Neural Regeneration. Acc Chem Res 49:17-26 |
| Yin, Perry T; Han, Edward; Lee, Ki-Bum (2016) Engineering Stem Cells for Biomedical Applications. Adv Healthc Mater 5:10-55 |
| Lai, Jinping; Yu, An; Yang, Letao et al. (2016) Development of Photoactivated Fluorescent N-Hydroxyoxindoles and Their Application for Cell-Selective Imaging. Chemistry 22:6361-7 |
| Yin, Perry T; Shah, Shreyas; Pasquale, Nicholas J et al. (2016) Stem cell-based gene therapy activated using magnetic hyperthermia to enhance the treatment of cancer. Biomaterials 81:46-57 |
| Chueng, Sy-Tsong Dean; Yang, Letao; Zhang, Yixiao et al. (2016) Multidimensional nanomaterials for the control of stem cell fate. Nano Converg 3:23 |
| Kim, Tae-Hyung; Shah, Shreyas; Yang, Letao et al. (2015) Controlling differentiation of adipose-derived stem cells using combinatorial graphene hybrid-pattern arrays. ACS Nano 9:3780-90 |
| Patel, Sahishnu; Pongkulapa, Thanapat; Yin, Perry T et al. (2015) Integrating epigenetic modulators into NanoScript for enhanced chondrogenesis of stem cells. J Am Chem Soc 137:4598-601 |
| Shah, Shreyas; Liu, Jing-Jing; Pasquale, Nicholas et al. (2015) Hybrid upconversion nanomaterials for optogenetic neuronal control. Nanoscale 7:16571-7 |
| Yin, Perry T; Shah, Shreyas; Chhowalla, Manish et al. (2015) Design, synthesis, and characterization of graphene-nanoparticle hybrid materials for bioapplications. Chem Rev 115:2483-531 |
Showing the most recent 10 out of 37 publications
