| 초록 |
Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are multipotent cells that have the specific capacity to self-renew and differentiate into all mature blood cells. Umbilical cord blood is a promising alternative source of HSCs for allogeneic and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for the treatment of a variety of hematological disorders and as a supportive therapy for malignant diseases. However, the low number of HSCs obtainable from a single donor of umbilical cord blood limits direct transplantation of umbilical cord blood to the treatment of pediatric patients because of the small volume of blood collected. Therefore, ex vivo HSC expansion (culture) is necessary to produce a sufficient number of cells that can engraft and sustain long-term hematopoiesis. The native bone marrow microenvironment, a complex network of stromal cells and extracellular matrix (ECM), serves as a stem cell niche that regulates HSC functions such as self-renewal, proliferation, homing, and fate choice. The importance of the topography of the tissue culture materials and of signaling molecules or specific functional groups immobilized on these materials has been taken into consideration in the recent development of HSCs culture systems. The culture materials available for ex vivo HSC expansion including our developed biomaterials having nano-segments are reviewed, and the effects of their surface chemistry and topography on HSC expansion are discussed. |
