Investigation of Mechanoresponsive Behaviors of Human Embryonic Stem Cells Using Microfabricated Elastomeric Post Arrays

Much effort has been recently directed to investigate how soluble factors in the local cellular microenvironment of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) regulate their fate decisions [1]; however, effects of mechanical signals in the local cellular microenvironment on the fates of ESCs are still not yet well understood. Early experimental evidence established in recent years has shown that mechanical signals and external forces experienced through interactions with extracellular matrix (ECM) mechanics can play critical roles in regulating survival, proliferation and differentiation of ESCs. However, there is still limited knowledge of how mechanical signals in the local cellular microenvironment regulate the fate decisions of human ESCs (hESCs), and advancing such knowledge will be critical for both fundamental understanding and clinical applications of hESCs. This work was thus set to explicitly investigate the mechanosensitive properties of hESCs.