Glycopeptide-Based Supramolecular Hydrogels Induce Differentiation of Adipose Stem Cells into Neural Lineages

We applied a bottom-up approach to develop biofunctionalsupramolecularhydrogels from an aromatic glycodipeptide. The self-assembly of theglycopeptide was induced by either temperature manipulation (heating-coolingcycle) or solvent (DMSO to water) switch. The sol-gel transitionwas salt-triggered in cell culture media and resulted in gels withthe same chemical compositions but different mechanical properties.Human adipose derived stem cells (hASCs) cultured on these gels underbasal conditions (i.e., without differentiation factors) overexpressedneural markers, such as GFAP, Nestin, MAP2, and & beta;III-tubulin,confirming the differentiation into neural lineages. The mechanicalproperties of the gels influenced the number and distribution of theadhered cells. A comparison with gels obtained from the nonglycosylatedpeptide showed that glycosylation is crucial for the biofunctionalityof the hydrogels by capturing and preserving essential growth factors,e.g., FGF-2.

Automated summary

We developed biofunctional supramolecular hydrogels from an aromatic glycodipeptide using a bottom-up approach. The self-assembly of the glycopeptide was induced by temperature or solvent switch. The gels, triggered by salt in cell culture media, had different mechanical properties and promoted neural differentiation of human adipose derived stem cells. Glycosylation was found to be crucial for the biofunctionality of the hydrogels by capturing and preserving essential growth factors.