Differentiation of Neural Progenitor Cells from Pluripotent Stem Cells in Artificial Niches

Neural progenitor cells (NPCs) derived from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) provide a promising cell source for disease modeling, drug screening, and tissue engineering. To fulfill the potentials of PSC-derived NPCs, a series of fundamental issues, especially the effects of stem cell niches, need to be elucidated to gain a precise control over stem cell response. This article discussed several important niche factors that affect NPC differentiation from PSCs: 1) seeding density to represent cell-cell interactions; 2) the extracellular matrix (ECM)-bound growth factors to present cell-growth factor interactions; and 3) the substrate stiffness to represent cell-matrix interactions. Understanding the effects of these factors will better recreate the stem cell niche to promote neural differentiation from PSCs.