The use of neural stem cells (NSCs) in cell therapy has become a powerful tool used for the treatment of central nervous system diseases, including traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries. However, a significant drawback is related to the limited viability after transplantation in situ. The design of three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds that are capable of resembling the architecture and physico-chemical features of an extracellular environment could be a suitable approach to improve cell survival and preserve their cellular active phase over time. In this study, we investigated NSC adhesion and proliferation in hydrogel systems. In particular, we evaluated the effect of RGD binding domains on cell fate within the polymeric scaffold. The introduction of a tripeptide via hydrogel chemical functionalization improved the percentage of proliferating cells until 8 days after seeding when compared to the unmodified scaffold. The beneficial effects of this 3D culture system was further evident when compared to a NSC monolayer (2D) culture, resulting in an approximately 40% increase in cells in the active phases at 4 and 8 days, and maintained a difference of 25% until 21 days after seeding.

中文翻译：

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作为3D神经干细胞培养系统的混合水凝胶中RGD功能化的评估†

在细胞疗法中使用神经干细胞（NSC）已成为治疗中枢神经系统疾病（包括脑部和脊髓损伤）的有效工具。然而，一个显着的缺点与原位移植后有限的生存能力有关。能够类似于细胞外环境的结构和理化特征的三维（3D）支架的设计可能是一种改善细胞存活并随时间保留其细胞活性期的合适方法。在这项研究中，我们调查了水凝胶系统中NSC的粘附和增殖。特别地，我们评估了RGD结合结构域对聚合物支架内细胞命运的影响。引入三肽通过与未经修饰的支架相比，水凝胶化学功能化改善了直至接种后8天的增殖细胞百分比。与NSC单层（2D）培养相比，这种3D培养系统的有益效果更加明显，导致在第4天和第8天处于活跃期的细胞数量增加了约40％，并保持25％的差异直到21天播种后几天。